A dead end in Nigeria: The elusive consultant in a £1 million university deal

Dear readers — this is an edition full of mysteries. 

For months, The Mill has been investigating the University of Greater Manchester, and our revelations culminated in police raids on seven properties last week. Greater Manchester Police’s major incident team say their focus is on “suspected fraud and bribery” and that investigations remain ongoing, following the suspension of the university’s vice chancellor and other senior officials in May. 

In today’s top story, we dig further into an element of the situation that we’ve been trying to work out — a deal struck by the university to bring across 128 students from the Ebonyi State in south eastern Nigeria to Bolton in February. We’ve been on the hunt for a consultant who played a key role in the £1 million partnership, so we sent a reporter to find his offices in the Nigerian capital city, Abuja, and to speak to officials in the Ebonyi State. The combined reporting of Abiodun Jamiu, our man in Nigeria, and our own Mollie Simpson in recent weeks raises new questions about an ever-deepening scandal.

But that’s not all. The second part of today’s edition concerns a very different mystery, much closer to home. Last week, the community around New Islington was shaken by a violent attack. The victim, sadly euthanised by the RSPB, was Father Swan, an apparent “guardian” of the marina who has been rearing cygnets in the area for over a decade. Online, tributes have been shared of Father Swan joining Tupac and Princess Diana in heaven. The perpetrator, however, remains at large. Rumoured variously to be a mastiff, a bulldog or even an XL Bully, Facebook sleuths investigating the crime have yet to nail the case. Could we fare any better? Jack Dulhanty headed along to the marina.

Your Mill briefing 

👮 Muhammad Amaad, the man accused of assaulting a police officer at Manchester Airport last year, has denied his use of force was unlawful. In footage shown to the jury, PC Zachary Marsden and two female colleagues are seen attempting to arrest Amaad’s brother Mohammed Fahir Amaaz following reports a man matching his description had headbutted a member of the public. According to prosecutors, Amaad grabbed Marsden by the arm, then the throat, before pushing him down and punching him six times. Footage of the incident was widely shared online at the time. In court, Amaad said his actions were defensive and he would not change anything about the way he responded. Asked by his barrister if he believed he was under attack, he replied: “absolutely”. 

🚌 Andy Burnham has requested an “urgent report” investigating how a double decker bus came to crash into a bridge in Salford on Monday, tearing its roof off. Three people were seriously injured, with another 17 injured, while the driver was arrested on suspicion of causing injury by careless driving but bailed pending further inquiries. Transport for Greater Manchester say they have agreed several short term measures, like further signage at and near the bridge, and have also been asked to consider the wider implications for safety across the network in their probe.

📃 The investigation into an attack on prison guards by Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena suicide bomber, is ongoing, according to counter terrorism police. No charges have yet been brought against Abedi, who threw hot cooking oil and stabbed three prison officers with makeshift blades at HMP Frankland in County Durham in April, prompting criticism from survivors of the Arena attack who questioned why Abedi had access to the “comfort and privilege” of kitchen facilities. Counter Terrorism Policing North East told the BBC that they were working with the prison and police to “thoroughly investigate” the incident.

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From Today’s Sponsor: The Sunday Boys, Manchester’s low-voiced LGBTQ+ choir, take over the Stoller Hall this Saturday, 26th July, for an uplifting and harmonious night of music. The performance, Queers on Stage, takes the audience on a journey through time and musical theatre, celebrating the representation of queer lives and stories on stage over the past 50 years. To attend their upcoming performance celebrating pride, community and connection, see the ticket link below.

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A dead end in Nigeria: The elusive consultant in a £1 million university deal

By Abiodun Jamiu, in Nigeria, and Mollie Simpson

Along a dusty, rubble-strewn street on the outskirts of the Nigerian capital stands the “Okay Centre”, a colonnaded, dun and ochre building that is the business address of an educational consultant linked to the University of Greater Manchester (UGM). On Sundays, the two-storey building teems with worshippers attending services held by Christian pastors whose posters decorate the Okay Centre’s exterior.

But today is a Wednesday. No one is walking through the metal gate, which is fringed with barbed wire. The building is deserted. There is no sign of the educational consultant and his firm’s name doesn’t appear in the entryway. 

This dead end in Abuja is another twist in our effort to find Emmanuel Anyata Ajah, one of two men at the center of a scholarship program that is part of UGM’s rebranding as a destination for international students. When 128 postgrads from Ebonyi State in southeastern Nigeria arrived in Bolton in February to begin master’s programmes in engineering and medical sciences, they were welcomed by vice chancellor George Holmes.