C/River SUBEB uncovers N1.3bn fraud plot

The Cross River Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) has uncovered an alleged attempt by a fraudster to defraud it of N1.3 billion from UBE Matching Grant.

The Executive Chairman of the board, Dr Stephen Odey, who disclosed this on Thursday in a statement to newsmen in Calabar said that the suspect (name withheld) forged the signature of the Executive Chairman and used the old letter head of the board in an attempt to make withdrawals in one of the board’s bank accounts.

According to him, the bank alerted the board when it suspected a foul play in the transaction.

The chairman said that the bank further reported the case to the Department of State Services (DSS) and the suspect was tracked down in Edo.

“On April 30, I was contacted by Ecobank to confirm my authorization for the transfer of the sum of N1.3 billion to an account number belonging to WRTS Nigeria Limited through a letter purported to have been sent by me to their Lagos branch.

“I was further informed that a certain Prof. Ofeimun had made several calls to the bank asking that the said amount of money be transferred to his account as the owner of the company