The University of Jos (UNIJOS) has suspended one of its academic
staff who was allegedly caught cheating while writing an examination on
May 4th 2016.
Benedicta Daudu, an associate professor of law and former head of the
Department of Jurisprudence and International Law of the Faculty of Law
in UNIJOS, was allegedly caught copying from a prepared answer during
an examination for a Master’s degree in Research and Public Policy in
the Faculty of Social Sciences of the same university.
The development was exclusively reported by journalists on May 21,
frustrating what some staff and student described as a plot by the
university to cover up the matter.
After the report, Mrs. Daudu’s membership of the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption was immediately suspended.
Insiders at UNIJOS have now told journalists that the lecturer has been suspended from work, and from the masters programme.
“I can confirm to you that the Senate Disciplinary Committee found
her guilty of the allegations, and has suspended her from the Masters
programme for two semesters,” an official of the university told this
newspaper.
“Also, the matter was referred to the Staff Disciplinary Committee
which also suspended her from work. So she is no longer teaching.”
Another official of the university said the professor sued the institution over her suspension.
The status of the court case remained unclear as at the time of publishing this report on Monday.
All UNIJOS officials who spoke to journalists on the matter asked not
be named for fear they might be accused of plotting the professor’s
downfall.
Even the spokesperson for the university, Abdullahi Abdullahi, simply said, “Please, please, I have no comment on this matter.”
When contacted by telephone on Monday, Mrs. Daudu, the affected
professor said, “Please excuse me, please, please” after our reporter
asked her for updates on her examination malpractice case.
Asked when the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption
(PACAC) would allow the professor back to her post, Executive Secretary,
Bolaji Owasanoye, said, “Until matter is resolved, she remains away
from PACAC.”
The committee, headed by prominent law professor and civil rights
campaigner, Itse Sagay, and made up of mainly university professors, is
the intellectual wing of Mr Buhari’s anti-corruption war.
The mandate of the committee includes advising the President on the
implementation of required reforms in Nigeria’s anti-corruption campaign
and criminal justice system.
Although she has a Masters in Law, the associate professor was working towards another masters in Research and Public Policy.
ViewPointNigeria learnt that the department later accused her of
sneaking in prepared answers, also referred to as “chokes” by students,
during the examination for the Global Context in Public Policy course.
Source – Viewpoint