Deputy Registrar suspended as Kogi Poly uncovers certificate forgery syndicate
The management of Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, said it has uncovered a group of people forging its certificates and result slips, bearing different names and programmes being run by the institution. The Rector of the institution, Professor Salisu Ogbo Usman, disclosed this on Thursday during a press conference in Lokoja, Kogi State capital. He said […]
The management of Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, said it has uncovered a group of people forging its certificates and result slips, bearing different names and programmes being run by the institution.
The Rector of the institution, Professor Salisu Ogbo Usman, disclosed this on Thursday during a press conference in Lokoja, Kogi State capital.
He said the syndicate involved in document falsification include some students, non-students and few dishonest staff members of the institution.
According to him, four suspects have been arrested in connection with the crime, while five staff in the result processing unit, including a Deputy Registrar, have been suspended as investigation intensified on the case.
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The Rector stressed that an attempt by one Dansuma Mercy Sunday to get her statement of result from the institution led to the arrest of some students of the institution including Abubakar Musa, Adejo Faith, Ademu Rilwanu and an ex student, Henry Tope, who was suspected to be the mastermind of the syndicate.
He said their arrest followed intelligence reports and routine verification exercises by the Admission, ICT and security Units, in collaboration with relevant law enforcement agencies.
Professor Usman added that some of the suspects forged National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma results, with some using the forged ND results to apply for HND admission; while others apply for the collection of original certificates for the same fabricated results.
“Amina Mustapha appeared alongside a staff member, Dominic Egwuda, to collect ND and HND certificate in Computer science. Upon scrutiny by admission unit, discrepancies were noticed. Investigation revealed that Amina never attended Kogi State Polytechnic and her matriculation number was non-existent.
“Further investigation led to suspension of five staff members, including a Deputy Registrar, Dominic Egwuda. He has refused to honour our investigation, and is presently on the run.
“A staff member in the exams and Records Unit had in his possession 30 forged statement of results bearing different names and programmes. Security operatives also recovered several fake official stamps, stamp pads and admission letter bearing different names and programmes from his residence,” he said.
He reiterated the institution’s zero tolerance for academic fraud, result falsification, and all forms of unethical conduct, stressing that any staff member, student or external collaborator found culpable would face the full wrath of the law, in addition to institutional disciplinary measures.
However, the suspected mastermind of the syndicate, Henry Tope, revealed that he was contacted by one of the arrested suspects to assist in getting a statement of result, which he contacted his link person in the institution.
“Ademu Rilwanu contacted me to process a statement of result for Dansuma Mercy Sunday. I told him the amount is N70,000; he paid,” he said.
Earlier, the chief security officer of the institution, Emmanuel Attai, said the operatives intercepted one of the suspects, Abubakar Musa, at the gate of the institution with the forged statement of result, and arrested him.
He added that further investigation led to the arrest of the three others and uncovered their collaborators among the staff in the forging of security documents of the institution.