UNCOVERED: Late UI Maths Lecturer Resigned To Protest N60,000 Deduction From His Monthly Salary

In the letter dated May 9, 2017 and signed by the deceased, which was sighted by Sunday Tribune, the deceased had given a three-month notice of resignation to the university, saying: “My decision to resign is as a result of family problems, which led to a ‘court ruling’ to deduct the sum of N60,000 monthly from my salary. I was not aware of the ‘court ruling’ but I was reliably informed by the Legal Unit of the university of such ruling. Also, I did not approve such monthly deduction.”

It was gathered that the apartment Zubairu occupied was recently reallocated to another staffer, though this could not be confirmed as of the time of filing this report, a development which sources noted might have led to further pressure on the man.

The deceased’s wife, neighbours and former students, however, claimed that Zubairu was not suicidal, as he was a peaceful and reserved man.

One of his undergraduate students, on hearing of his demise, queried: “Why? Can it be because of his Ph.D.?”

But Mrs Fatima Zubair, while speaking with Sunday Tribune said: “I am short of words. He was easily accessible, friendly. I was not with him when it happened. I was called and had to rush down there.”

She gave an account of how the deceased had been caught up in the inferno, though he did not suffer a burn and how he was “rushed to the hospital but could not be revived.”

When asked about the claims that the deceased was frustrated over his lack of success over a Ph.D. degree, she replied saying that she was not going to speculate on that.

The encounter, however, got heated when Sunday Tribune, through a text message and subsequent phone call to Mrs Zubair, asked her to confirm the veracity of speculations that the marriage had hit the rocks and that the deceased resigned following a monthly deduction of N60,000 from his salary for his children’s upkeep based on a court ruling.

A male ‘family member’ who refused to give his name, told Sunday Tribune to stay with the university’s account of the incident.