8 suspects reveal how they design, issue fake certificates for N2000
- Eight business center operators in Maiduguri, Borno state, have confessed to issuing fake university degree certificate for as low as N2000
- The suspects were nabbed at a popular commercial centre known as Post Office and were subsequently paraded with some of the forged documents and stamps
- The NSCDC boss in Borno, Abdullahi Ibrahim, said many beneficiaries of the doctored certificates are working with international and local non-governmental organisations
- One of the suspects also disclosed that they usually collect as low as N1,000 for a cloned ID card
- The matter is still being investigated by the NSCDC, with the hopes that more suspects would be apprehended
Eight business center operators in Maiduguri, Borno state, have confessed to issuing fake university degree certificate for as low as N2000.
The individuals were paraded on Tuesday, August 27 by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) for alleged forgery of academic documents, Premium Times reports.
Legit.ng gathers that the suspects are being investigated for alleged doctoring of admission letters, certificates, ID cards, tuition fee receipts, stamps and official seals of various tertiary institutions around the north-east, including the University of Maiduguri.
The suspects were nabbed at a popular commercial centre known as Post Office and were subsequently paraded with some of the forged documents and stamps.
The NSCDC’s state commandant, Abdullahi Ibrahim, disclosed that the unfortunate development had taken his command nine months to investigate.
He said “the premium attached to paper qualifications by employers of labour” was the reason for the “thriving” illegal business of academic certificates forgery.
He added that many beneficiaries of the doctored certificates are working with international and local non-governmental organisations (INGOs); noting that most of the forged certificates were issued to persons seeking certification for health-related courses or job opportunities.
According to Ibrahim, the “fake admission letters and ID cards issued to some of the students who have gone far in their academic pursuits undetected,” is the most disheartening aspect of the documents falsification racket.
He opined that the fear of being discovered as having tendered fake certificates to gain admission may be the reason for some cases of students committing suicide in their final year.
Ibrahim also disclosed that falsified bank tellers for payment of tuition fees were also created by the suspects. The tellers are usually tendered by students for clearance during registration.
He urged tertiary institutions, employers of labour and banks to “overhaul their internal control mechanism by periodically reviewing their personnel credentials.”
One of the suspects, Abubakar Abubakar, said his friend had introduced him to the illegal business. He also claimed to be a staff of the University of Maiduguri.
Abubakar disclosed that they usually collect as low as N1,000 for a cloned ID card.
Another suspect who refused to mention his name said: “We use to issue a university degree certificate for N2000, while a bank teller for tuition fee goes for N1500 or N1000.”
The matter is still being investigated by the NSCDC, with the hopes that more suspects would be apprehended.
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Recall that Legit.ng previously reported that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discovered ten persons who attempted to register with fake certificates during registration in its orientation camps.
Three of the culprits were apprehended in the Taraba state orientation camp, and claimed to have graduated from Istop University, Cotonou in Benin Republic.
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Source: Legit.ng
