Certificate Scandal: Police To Prosecute Lawmaker As Yaba Tech Fires 12 Indicted Staff
LAGOS OCTOBER 19TH (NEWRANGERS)-The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has ordered the immediate arrest and prosecution of a member of the federal house of representatives in Abuja (names withheld) representing Ajaokuta constituency in Kogi state, for alleged certificate forgery, conspiracy, obtaining of false/forged documents and presentation of the documents to INEC knowing same to be fake.
In response to the outcome of investigations conducted by the State Criminal Investigations Department, SCID, Panti Lagos, Idris ordered that the culprit and over 15 accomplices all staff of Yaba College of Technology, aka Yaba Tech, who aided, abetted and assisted the legislator to secure the document, be prosecuted.
Already, the Chief Security Officer, CSO, of the institution, Mr. Clement Aigbimeade who took the affected 15 staff of the Department of Examinations and Records involved the scandal, on bail has been contacted to produce them for prosecution along with the federal law maker.
The registrar of the institution, Dr. Margret Ladipo, has since queried and dismissed the personnel who connived with the legislator to issue him forged documents {ND certificate and letter of confirmation of results}, purported to have been issued by the school.
Among those dismissed is Mr. Oluwasheun Adekoya, head of the Examinations and Records department who allegedly assisted the honourable member of representatives to forge a 1987 National Diploma Certificate which he presented to INEC and scaled through screening during the March 28th 2015 national assembly elections and which he won.
But in a strongly worded petition by one Abubakar Okina to the IGP, it was alleged that the educational certificates presented by the federal legislator were all forged and that some staff of Yabatech and specifically the Examinations and Records department conspired with the politician to issue him the forged certificates.
His petition instigated the investigation by the police which led to the arrest of Mr. Oluwasheun Adekoya and other staff of the Exams and Records department of Yabatech. When police searched the homes of the personnel arrested, blank Yabatech statement of result forms, rubber stamps, letter headed papers, blank certificates among other items were recovered, particularly in the house of Mr. Adekoya.
The institution’s head of media Mr. Charles Oni confirmed the development. He said the institution had since fired the affected staff, after an internal disciplinary panel found them guilty of the crime.
The police legal team in Lagos has prepared a two count charge against the house member, bothering on conspiracy and forgery; while the staff of the institution would face a four count charge. The honourable that is warming up to run for a second term could not be reached; but one of his aides assured that his principal would address the issue.
Of recent, there has been a sharp increase in the number of cases of politicians with questionable certificates, from equally questionable higher institutions. The certificate issue started as far back as 1998, when a high ranking party stalwart, of the ruling party, presented questionable Toronto University certificates to INEC.
How he scaled through the Toronto University or University of Toronto scandal remains unclear. Then in 2014, the political arena was again agog with claims and counterclaims of not only the educational qualifications of President Muhammadu Buhari, but also which institutions did he attend, aside from military courses and seminars.
Social media whistle blowers took on the former minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun, alleging that she not only failed to partake in the mandatory one year NYSC national service, but had presented forged/fake documents/clearance certificates to INEC and the Senate during her screening, knowing same to be ‘Oluwole’ documents.
After months of denials, she confirmed that the NYSC clearance certificate was obtained for her from unknown sources. She resigned her appointment and relocated to London; to escape from prosecution.
A former minister of communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu has also been caught in the web of certificate scandal. In his own case, even the school he claimed to have attended could not be located.
Shittu had resigned his ministerial appointment from the Buhari cabinet to contest the governorship seat of his home state, Oyo. In the build up to the primaries, facts emerged that he was carrying doubtful certificates about and presenting same to INEC and other relevant bodies.
Initially, he denied any wrong doing, placing the blame of his educational woes squarely at the doorsteps of his political enemies. He has long retraced his steps, accepting the fact that his papers are questionable. He may likely face prosecution. To preempt his prosecution, he quickly dragged his party, APC to court for allegedly disqualifying from the Oyo state governorship seat based on the allegation that his has not educational papers. But in his claims, Shittu said he has qualified papers even as his NYSC certificate is in doubt.
There are many others yet to be unearthed. With time, Nigerians would discover the reason our present crop of some students are as dull as their parents. Even at the senate screening level, forged/fake certificates could not be detected, because they too house more than a handful. INEC severally failed to discover the fraud in the certificates presented by politicians and at the party screening level, nobody takes the time to check out educational or any other claims.
The Nigerian Constitution is explicit on the level of education required by politicians among other requirements to stand for any elective post. It did not state the educational requirements for political appointment. Only last week, the federal government has vowed to tackle the rot in NYSC has to restore its credibility and avoid the re-occurring NYSC exemption certificate scandal.
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Posted by News Rangers
on Oct 19 2018. Filed under National.
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