FUTA Under Vice-Chancellor Adenike Oladiji Spent ₦49.8 Million on External Lawyers Without Required Attorney-General Approval

Secrets Reporters

The Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), under the leadership of Vice-Chancellor Professor Adenike Oladiji, paid ₦49,844,328.82 to external solicitors without obtaining the approval of the Attorney-General of the Federation, a direct violation of federal regulations governing the engagement of legal counsel by public institutions, according to an investigation done on the university’s 2024 financial year.

Professor Oladiji has served as FUTA’s Vice-Chancellor since May 2022, covering the entire audited period, and continues in the role today as the university’s first female Vice-Chancellor. As chief executive and accounting officer, responsibility for the irregular spending falls on her administration.

The investigation, which examined FUTA’s books for the 2024 financial year, identified ₦71,208,135.92 in irregularities across two separate findings. The larger of the two, the ₦49.84 million in external legal fees, points to a recurring compliance gap that has been observed at several federal institutions during this investigation cycle.

The Establishment Circular Ref. No. SGF/PS/CIR/625/1, dated 16th July 2003, is unambiguous: every ministry, department, and agency must obtain the Attorney-General of the Federation’s approval before engaging any external solicitor and paying them from public funds. The requirement exists for a reason  to ensure that legal fees are vetted and justified before public money is committed to them.

By engaging external solicitors without that sign-off, FUTA removed the one check specifically designed to guarantee that legal fees paid from public funds are reasonable, necessary, and properly documented before the money leaves the treasury. A university spending nearly ₦50 million on legal services outside that process leaves taxpayers with no assurance that the fees were fair or that the litigation itself was justified in the first place.

The second finding in the investigation reflects ₦21,363,807.10 in non-deducted taxes that the university was obligated to withhold under Nigeria’s tax laws. The Companies Income Tax Act requires institutions like FUTA to deduct taxes at source and remit them to the relevant authorities. That obligation was breached to the tune of over ₦21 million.