By Noah Ocheni, Lokoja
The Management of Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, has called on law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute a staff member, Mr. Abdul Hassan Sani, over alleged involvement in a salary fraud scheme.
The all was made in a statement signed by Uredo Omale, Director of Public Relations and Protocol for the institution, and made available to journalists in Lokoja.
According to the statement, Mr. Sani allegedly attempted to defraud the Polytechnic through false claims related to employment and payroll entitlements.
“The attention of Kogi State Polytechnic has been drawn to misleading publications by some bloggers regarding payroll irregularities that occurred in 2014—six years before the current management assumed office,” the statement read.
The Polytechnic explained that the matter originated from a complaint submitted by Mr. Sani, which prompted an inquiry from the Office of the Auditor-General of Kogi State in a letter dated August 3, 2021, seeking clarification on why his name had been removed from the institution’s payroll.
In response, the Registrar, in a letter dated August 31, 2021, stated that Mr. Sani had presented an appointment letter claiming to be an Assistant Executive Officer. However, investigations revealed that there was no record of his documentation, posting, or clearance in the Polytechnic’s files.
“There was no evidence that the complainant was ever documented or assigned to any section of the institution, nor was he cleared during the staff screening exercise conducted in 2016,” the Registrar’s response stated.
The statement further disclosed that the file number used by Mr. Sani was found to belong to a female staff member who was legitimately employed in 2014 and had full records of documentation, departmental postings, and screening clearance.
Despite the irregularities, the Polytechnic confirmed that Mr. Sani was placed on the payroll and received salaries between June 2014 and November 2015, a period during which his employment status remained unverifiable.
The management emphasized its commitment to transparency and accountability, assuring the public that it would not tolerate acts capable of undermining institutional integrity.
It urged security and anti-corruption agencies to investigate the matter thoroughly and prosecute anyone found culpable to serve as a deterrent to others.
