Kogi Poly Suspends Five Staff, Arrests Four Students Over Certificate Scam

The Kogi State Polytechnic is probing a group comprising nine individuals suspected of involvement in certificate forgery schemes and the fabrication of official documents.

Prof. Salisu Ogbo, who serves as the Rector of Kogi Polytechnic, revealed this information during a press briefing he held on Friday, October 31, right there in Lokoja.

In his statement, the rector explained that five employees from the school have now been suspended from their duties, whereas four individuals claiming to be students have been taken into custody in connection with the exposed operation dealing in fake certificates and falsified paperwork.

“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

“We have discovered 30 forged original certificates reportedly sold out to prospective buyers.

“The suspects forged National Diploma (ND) results in the name of Kogi State Polytechnic and had the temerity to apply for Higher National Diploma (HND) admission in the same institution using the forged ND results,” he said.

As he described it, the illicit scheme came to light after tips from informants combined with standard checks and validations performed jointly by the school’s Admissions department, Information and Communications Technology team, and Security division.

“These individuals compromised our security arrangements and tampered with the security features on our Statements of Result.”

According to Ogbo, these perpetrators worked in tandem with those handling the grading processes to generate exam scores for people who carried over numerous failed courses yet deliberately skipped their required tests, thus misleadingly presenting those people as if they had successfully completed their studies.

“Such criminal acts represent an assault on the credibility and reputation of our institution, and they cannot be allowed to go unpunished,” he said.

Furthermore, the rector provided reassurance to members of the public at large, along with key partners and everyone affiliated with the polytechnic, emphasizing that all the school’s protocols for maintaining standards and its protective systems are still operating at full capacity without any breaches.

“We will not relent in our effort to expose and eliminate all forms of misconduct that are capable of denting the hard-earned reputation of Kogi state Polytechnic, Lokoja,” he said.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli