Security personnel at Bayero University in Kano have taken two guys into custody after they pretended to be teachers and tried to sell books to gullible new students.
The suspects, David Iluebe from Edo State and Chike Eke from Delta State, allegedly broke into a lecture hall at the Faculty of Engineering and introduced themselves to 100-level students as department lecturers, according to a statement released on Saturday, July 27, 2024, by the publication secretary of the Special Bulletin, Bala Abdullahi, on behalf of the university registrar.
“Thereafter, they presented a set of four different textbooks on the Use of English, Statistics, Nigerian People and Culture, and lastly, Algebra and Geometry Mathematics threatening the students to purchase these books as a requirement for their Continuous Assessment (CA) otherwise they’ll fail their courses,” the statement read.
“The apprehensive students present in the hall responded by buying several copies to meet the course requirement.
“However, nemesis caught up with the suspects when the security operatives swooped in on them following a report.
“The two persons were, however, arrested on July 25, 2024, by the security operatives for suspected criminal trespass, impersonation and cheating
“During preliminary investigation, the suspects claimed that they were the authors of the books they were selling to the students and they confessed to all the allegations leveled against them, revealing that they were hustling to make a living due to lack of a job.
“The suspects further disclosed that this was the second time they were coming to the state, having been to the Kano State Polytechnic earlier this year.”
The statement said that the collection of books they had were all low-quality and thought to have been pirated.
“This is a very disturbing emerging trend in our tertiary institutions which are being invaded by crooks and charlatans masquerading as academicians in order to dupe and exploit our unsuspecting students.”
Abdullahi said that while pupils would be made aware of the unfortunate occurrence, the suspects would be turned over to the police for additional appropriate action.
“The management of the university, therefore, warmed students and the general public to be wary of such impersonators adding that surveillance has been beefed up in the university to avert the recurrence of such an ugly incident.”
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli
