Naija official faces trial after claiming Sh10m was ‘eaten’ by a snake

Philomina Chieshe, an accountant with the state-run exams body claims Sh10 million was eaten by a snake from an office safe.

A government official who claimed snakes had eaten State parastatal funds will face legal proceeding for misappropriation of funds, Nigeria’s anti-graft body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said.

EFCC told African News that Philomina Chieshe and five others will appear before a High Court judge in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja over misappropriation of public funds.

Chieshe, an accountant with the state-run exams body, Joints Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) claimed that a snake had “spiritually” made away with 36 million naira (Sh10 million)

 While answering audit queries, Chieshe said her housemaid and a fellow employee had confessed to having used a snake to ‘spiritually’ steal the monies from an office vault.

Nigerians took to social media to express varying opinions from outrage, disbelief and mockery over the claims.

JAMB, a state agency responsible for admitting students to various universities in the Nigeria, has since suspended the accountant and vowed to investigate the matter.

The incident took place at the JAMB offices in Makurdi, capital of Benue.

Auditors from the capital Abuja had been sent to take inventory of funds accrued over the sale of scratch cards to students hoping to gain access to JAMB’s website to register or check on the status of their admissions.

The audit came up after reforms by the current registrar struck out the use of the cards.

Talk of an upgrade from the dog ate my homework to the snake ate the money.