Documents in possession of thegazelleness.com have revealed that the identity falsification allegation levelled against the Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Dr Muheeba Fareedah Dankaka is real.
When this medium published a story on the allegation on Thursday, 27 April, 2023, the FCC reacted through a statement by its Director of Public Affairs, Dr Chucks Okoli, condemning our publication and saying there was no substance in our story.
Thegazellenews.com thus decided to dig deeper into the matter and documents in possession of this medium, some of which are uploaded with this updated story have shown that Dr Dankaka’s identity falsification allegation might be true after all.
This medium also discovered that Dankaka also have a lot to explain in the legality of the honorary doctorate degree she possessed through which she’s being addressed as ‘Dr’.
In the statement attacking our previous publication, Dr Okoli described it as “false, mischievous, fake and sacreligious”.
However, the statement from the Commission left many unanswered questions, a clear indication that the statement was hurriedly put together to divert attention from real issues raised in our first publication.
Okoli, in his statement, said Dankaka had her education in Nigeria not abroad. Yes she did and there was nowhere in our publication that we stated she schooled abroad. The bone of contention was that the Honorary Doctorate Degree she is parading was conferred on her by an institution that has been declared illegal by the National University Commission (NUC).
In the resume she submitted to the Presidency for her appointment, Dankaka stated that she was awarded a honorary doctorate degree by the Pacific Western University, Denver, Colorado, Owerri Study Campus Center in 2007.
Investigation by this medium revealed that Pacific Western University, Denver was actually located in Hawaii and not Colorado but had been proscribed since 2006 and its activities classified as illegal by the World Universities’ body.
Thus, Owerri Study Campuses Center of the said Pacific Western University of Denver, State of Colorado was closed down by the National Universities Commission (NUC) after declaring its activities in Nigeria as illegal.
The FCC spokesperson never reacted to that.
Attached to this story are the resume of Dankaka where she stated that she was awarded honorary doctorate degree by the illegal university as well as NUC publication which named the institution as illegal.
Another area of contention which Dr Okoli never addressed was the testimonial Dankaka collected from the St Clares Anglican Girls Grammar School, Offa, Kwara State, it was written that she was enrolled in 1975 and graduated in 1978 when she sat for her ‘Senior School Certificate Examination’ which was suspicious because the junior and senior secondary school system was not in existence in 1978.
Copies of the certificates are attached here.
Yet another discrepancy was discovered on the CV she submitted for clearance at the Presidency and the Senate for screening and clearance. In the CV, she claimed to have been born on 2 January, 1964 but obtained her primary school leaving certificate in 1972, meaning she was eight years old when she concluded her primary school education, all these escaped the reaction of Dr Okoli. Going by the six year first leaving certificate duration, she must have started her primary education at the age of two years, in an era where if you are not up to at least five years old, you cannot be enrolled in primary school.
In all academic documents submitted for her screening by Dankaka, the name written on them is Muheeba Nike Salau bearing in mind that Salau was her maiden name. These include but not limited to: her school certificate, her degree certificate, her NYSC discharged certificate and her post- graduate certificate.
Later she became Mrs Dankaka but the ‘Nike’ as the previous middle name changed dramatically to ‘Fareedah’.
The question is: at what stage did the name ‘Fareedah’ came into being. It’s noted that there was no evidence of any change of name published in any national newspaper or sworn affidavit to that effect, attached to her documents to indicate any change of name.
On her first degree certificate for instance, her name was Muibat Adenike Salawu. On her Master’s degree certificate, it was Muiba Nike Salawu, and on the face of her West African Examinations Council certificate, it was Salawu Muibat Adenike.
Copies of these are attached with this story.
It was based on this that a human rights group, LYGEL Youths and Leadership Initiatives blown the whistle on the discrepancies glaringly noticed in the documents presented by the FCC Chairman.
Addressing a press conference on 8 July, 2021, the group raised all the aforementioned allegations against the FCC Chairman and vowed that all legal steps will be taken to ensure that Dankaka face the full wrath of law for her alleged misdeeds.
The immediate reaction of Dankaka was to issue a memo directing that ‘Fareedah’ should be removed from her name, instructing that her name should now be written as DR MUHEEBA DANKAKA.
The memo dated 29 July, 2021, was titled PROPER NOMENCLATURE AND ADDRESS OF THE EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMISSION and it was signed by Mohammed Bello Tukr, Esq, Secretary of the Commission.
Attached with this story were: (1) the official portrait of Dankaka where she was addressed as DR MUHEEBA F DANKAKA and (2) the one where she is now being addressed as DR MUHEEBA DANKAKA after the removal of ‘F’ which stands for Fareedah.
This change came on 29 July, 2021 after the press conference addressed by LYGEL.
Prior to that, LYGEL had petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the allegations raised against Dankaka.
The petition signed by LYGEL’s Director of Legal and Compliance, Olalekan I Oladapo, detailed all the discrepancies noticed in the documents presented by Dankaka and the need to investigate.
The anti-graft agency at the initial stage, appeared to be interested in investigating the matter. It invited the petitioners. They appeared and presented their case. But twice, EFCC invited Dankaka, twice she shunned the invitations on the excuse that she was on medical trips outside the country.
After some initial action, EFCC totally stepped back from continuing the investigation. This prompted LYGEL to fire a letter of reminder to EFCC on 10 January, 2021, almost a year after the first petition.
In the second letter, LYGEL reminded the anti-graft agency on the need for action to be taken against Dankaka even going by her complete disregard for the invitations by the EFCC.
But the anti-graft agency still refused to act and as at the time of this report, nothing has been done on the matter by the EFCC, over two years after the reminder letter.
When thegazellenews.com sought the reaction of the EFCC to the alleged recalcitrant attitude in investigating the matter, its Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, promised to get back to us but as at the time of writing this report, he has not given any update on the matter.
That EFCC allegedly abandoned the investigation of the allegations raised by LYGEL have fuelled observers’ belief that Dankaka may have been shielded by top ranking officials of the Federal Government particularly at the Presidency despite glaring unconstitutional acts she had allegedly committed.
This was also confirmed by the several petitions written to the Presidency, the National Assembly and other stakeholders by another group, the Concerned Stakeholders, received no official reactions from them.
Thus, in its determination to get to the root of the matter, LYGEL took a step further by instituting legal action on the matter.
On 24 August, 2021, LYGEL approached the Federal High Court in Abuja and instituted a legal case on the matter.
The defendants in the case are: The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; the President of the Senate; the Attorney General of the Federation; the Federal Character Commission; the Inspector General of Police; and the Office of the Chairman of the Federal Character Commission.
The case was assigned to Justice I E Ekwo of Court 7, Federal High Court, Abuja.
When thegazellenews.com contacted LYGEL’s Director of Legal and Compliance, Olalekan Oladapo Esq, on Monday, 3 May, 2023, he told this medium that the case is still on.
According to him, the case may is due for reassignment after the file was taken away from Justice Ekwo.
“The reason might be the recent redeployment of judges in the FHC. DCR did ask us to check back,” Oladapo said via a chat thegazllenews.com had with him on Monday, 3 May, 2023.
When we asked on the latest update of the petition forwarded to the EFCC by his group, his response was:
“EFCC has not reacted to our last letter of reminder”.
Meaning the EFCC has not responded to the reminder letter dated Monday, 10 January, 2021 and which the anti-graft agency acknowledged receipt on Tuesday, 11 January, 2021.
Observers are concerned that the anti-graft agency would abandoned an investigation mid-way.
“It shows the anti-graft agency is biased in its operation,” Adeola Adeshina (not real name), a legal practitioner told this medium.
Another lawyer who also wants to remain anonymous told thegazellenews.com that by shielding Dankaka from investigation and possible prosecution, the anti-graft agency has shown that it is not ready to be an unbiased anti-graft agency.
For now, EFCC is in the eyes of the storm while Nigerians wait for the commencement of the full legal proceedings against Dankaka.
Thegazellenews.com learnt that the woman at the center of the storm, is not perturbed. This medium learnt that she is busy running around seeking for her second term in office to be announced.
But the question for the Presidency to answer is, does she deserves this in view of this glaring abnormally? Time will surely tell.
