Sh*ck As Former Female Worker, Students Defraud Ondo University Of N457m

According to Ireporter Online, the institution disclosed that the investigation revealed how a former female employee allegedly masterminded a scheme that diverted students’ school fees into her personal bank accounts while fraudulently clearing payments on the university portal.

The acting Vice-Chancellor of the university, Oyesoji Aremu, made the revelation in a statement released on Monday, explaining that the fraudulent activities spanned the 2023/2024, 2024/2025, and 2025/2026 academic sessions.

The university said the audit exercise required every student to appear before an investigative committee, leading to the discovery that 320 students allegedly paid a total of N457,508,645 into the personal accounts of the former bursary staff member instead of the university’s designated accounts.

Reports indicated that the suspect, an alumnus of the university’s Accounting Department who later worked in the bursary unit, allegedly exploited access to the institution’s payment portal before resigning from the university in April 2025.

The statement further explained that the students involved were reportedly enticed with promises of discounted fees and commission arrangements, while their financial records were cleared on the portal despite the university not receiving the payments.

The institution also disclosed that 11 staff members and 34 students allegedly acted as agents by recruiting other students into the fraudulent scheme. In addition, one external collaborator said to be affiliated with the Federal Medical Centre in Owo was also implicated in the investigation.

University authorities stated that all affected students and those identified as agents would appear before the students’ disciplinary committee to explain their involvement and failure to comply with the institution’s official payment procedures.

Similarly, the implicated staff members are expected to face the senior staff disciplinary committee, while the alleged mastermind is currently under police investigation ahead of possible prosecution.

The management added that the audit process would continue as payments made by students who graduated within the last two academic sessions would also undergo further scrutiny.

The university maintained that it had received council approval to ensure transparency throughout the investigation and dissemination of information in order to prevent misinformation and speculation within the academic community.