Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, has uncovered a certificate racketeering syndicate involving staff and students, leading to the suspension of five employees and the arrest of four suspected students.
The Rector of the institution, Prof. Salisu Ogbo, disclosed this at a press briefing on Friday, saying the suspects were implicated in a large-scale forgery and document falsification scheme that had compromised the integrity of the institution’s academic records.
According to him, preliminary investigations revealed that members of the syndicate—comprising staff, students, and outsiders—had forged original National Diploma (ND) certificates of the polytechnic, some of which were reportedly sold to unsuspecting buyers.
“Only recently, the management uncovered the syndicate involving some students, non-students, and a few dishonest staff members accused of manipulating academic records in clear disregard of due process and institutional values,” Ogbo said.
He revealed that 30 forged certificates had so far been traced to the suspects, adding that some of them had used the fake ND certificates to apply for admission into the institution’s Higher National Diploma (HND) programme.
The Rector explained that the fraud was uncovered through intelligence reports and a routine verification exercise jointly conducted by the Admission, ICT, and Security Units of the polytechnic.
“These individuals compromised our security arrangements and tampered with the features on our Statements of Result,” he said. “They colluded with result processors to prepare results for students who had multiple carryovers but never sat for examinations, thereby falsely portraying them as graduates.”
Describing the act as criminal and an assault on the institution’s reputation, Ogbo assured that all those found culpable would face disciplinary action in accordance with established regulations.
He further reaffirmed the management’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of the institution’s certificates and protecting its hard-earned reputation.
“We will not relent in our efforts to expose and eliminate all forms of misconduct that could tarnish the image of Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja,” he stated.