WARRI— A
400-level medical student of Delta State University, DELSU, Abraka, in Delta
State, has been arrested by the police for allegedly hacking into Governor
Emmanuel Uduaghan’s phone.
The student, who failed in pharmacology and
pathology course sent a text message, purportedly from the governor, to
the Vice Chancellor, Prof Eric Arubayi, requesting him to upgrade his scores.
Vanguard gathered that enraged Govenor Uduaghan asked the
vice chancellor to report the matter to the police and ensure the student was
arrested when the matter was brought to his knowledge, as he never sent such
message.
The affected student in a statement to the
police, however, denied the allegation.
Investigation
by Vanguard showed
that the matter was causing ripples in the university, as the university
authorities, apparently responding to the request, upgraded the score of the
student in pharmacology.
The poser by concerned stakeholders is:
Assuming, but not conceding that the text message emanated from the governor,
should the vice chancellor have altered the scores of a student that failed
his examination?”
This is, however, not the first time the
governor’s phone had been hacked into by fraudsters. They had hacked into his
Airtel and MTN phone numbers in the past as well as his email address.
The first text message to the vice chancellor on
July 24 reads: “My able VC, Chief Tony Anenih called me in respect of one boy
that just wrote pathology and pharmacology exam in 400 level Medicine. My able
Prof, I want you to ensure that boy passes, you know I cannot afford to
disappoint Chief Tony Anenih. Am in a meeting. These are the details.
CHS/04/05/88406.”
Thinking that the text message was actually from
the governor, as it came from the number with which he saved the governor’s
name, Uduaghan 1 in his phone, Prof Arubayi replied, asking for the
student’s name to which the hacker replied: “His name is Imala W. Kelly. My
able VC, all I want is the boy to pass. Chief Tony Anenih has been
calling.”
DELSU vice
chancellor, Prof Arubayi, confirmed to Vanguard in
his office, Monday, that he, in fact, received the said text message and
contacted the governor after the scores of students who scored between
48-49 in pharmacology was upgraded to 50 based on standing regulation of the
university, “but he denied ever sending me such a text message.”
He said the Academic Board of the College of
Health Sciences had met and approved the scores in pathology, which the student
scored 46, and there was nothing that could be done about it, other than for
the affected person to go for a resit, adding: “That is what I advised the
governor.”
Prof Arubayi
told Vanguard that
it was the Provost of the College of Sciences, Dr. John Ohaju-Obodo, that drew his
attention about a week after that a text message, purportedly from the
governor, appointing him chairman of a juicy government committee was
received by him, but when he contacted the governor, he told him it was a scam.
He said he wasted no time when he confirmed the
truth from the governor in summoning the student and handing him over to the
police for cyber crime.
“I am even surprised that the police have not
charged him to court, as far as I am concerned, this is an EFCC case,” he said.
He said the student was currently facing a
disciplinary panel for breach of matriculation oath, but lamented that he had
not appeared before the panel.
A university source said the student had been
suspended, but as at Monday, he was seen attending lectures and had refused to
vacate his room despite orders to that effect from the authorities.
Prof Arubayi laughed when told by Vanguard that
he was being accused of examination malpractice, saying, “Did the student give
me money to change his scores or is he a girl to say that she is my girlfriend,
what was done was based on the regulation of the school,”
Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof Chukwuemeka Peter
Aloamaka and provost, Dr Ohaju –Obodo told Vanguard that no unilateral
decision was taken by the vice chancellor, as the appropriate organ looked into
the matter before upgrading the scores of five to six students based on the
institution’s regulation.
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