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• How syndicate raked in over N200m
By Gabriel Dike
On Wednesday, November 6, 2023, an online news platform alleged that some Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, senior staff were involved in certificate racketeering. It claimed that the syndicate sold the university’s certificate between N2 million and N3 million to some people.
The report traced the fraud to the 2020/2021 academic session, alleging how former Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, was alerted about the activities of the certificate syndicate. He was said to have brought in the Department of State Security (DSS), who acted as an interested buyer, leading to the bursting of the syndicate.
Fagbohun reportedly did not act on the report. He rather passed it on to his successor, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello.
A day after the online report, staffs and students of the 40-year-old university were discussing the scam in hush tunes. Some queried why the indicted senior staffs are still serving in the school management and no action has been taken against them.
The Education Report visited the Ojo Campus twice.
A professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences (name withheld), said DSS burst the certificate racketeering in 2020 and those involved never faced the Staff Disciplinary Committee (SDC), which is unlike a university system: “The inaction of the former VC and the current one left much to be desired. It gives credence to the online platform assertion that the fraud is being swept under the carpet.
“Many staffs and students are just aware of the certificate racketeering now. This is a fraud that happened in 2020 and the management claimed that it was waiting for Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) advice before taking action is unacceptable.
“I am not convinced by the fire brigade approach by the university management when the online report came out. The statement issued the next day was not convincing enough.
“The mentioned staffs are walking freely on campus. Does the management know that this is a serious case? Nigerians are watching to see how they handle this case”
Students decried the late response of the university to a fraud that was investigated by the DSS. A final student of the Faculty of Education said the affected staffs fingered by the DSS ought to have faced a panel and dismissed by now: “Rather, one is occupying management position and the university just reacting after the online news outlet published the fraud last week.”
A former secretary of one of the unions told The Education Report: “Imagine the current management just initiating the process three years after the DSS burst the certificate syndicates. It means the fraud was meant to die a natural death but for the online news platform. So, it is taking the DPP three years to give the university legal advice on the case?”
The sacked Dean, Students Affairs, Prof. Tajudeen Olumoko, said: “I was not involved in such. I didn’t make any confessional statement.” He was last week removed from office and queried.
The Registrar, Mr. Emmanuel Fanu, who wrote to DSS did not respond to questions sent to him. LASU Alumni Association officers also kept sealed lips about the certificate racketeering.
Two weeks after the online news report, the affected staffs are yet to face the SDC. Olatunji-Bello’s response: “The allegation that I did not act is untrue. We have been following up with the DPP, who is now in charge of investigation and actively cooperating with them.
Any further action will follow their report.
“However, our internal disciplinary process is on going with regard to the individuals listed. It will interest you to know that the matter was already on going over a year before I assumed office.”
On why the certificate fraud was not brought to the attention of the Senate and Governing Council, she said: “The composition of the Council and the Senate of the university is the same since the incident originally occurred in 2020. Only the chairmanship of the bodies changed.”
Olatunji-Bello insisted the university management would act in accordance with its law once indictment is established: “No one will be shielded. There is a process that must be followed and I will not breach it to entertain anybody.
“Our internal disciplinary measures have been activated against those mentioned. Once investigations are concluded, our report will be made known to the public.”
Racketeers rake in N200m
Investigations revealed that the LASU staffs involved in the certificate racketeering smiled to the banks as they raked in over N200 million. This is going by the number of transactions carried out with the prospective clients, who paid between N2million and N3million each.
The DSS report said the buying fee was N2million to N3million depending on the courses demanded by the prospective clients and 104 transactions were involved.
A staff, who claimed to know some of those mentioned in the DSS report said: “Some of them used the money to buy new cars, land, build houses, rent new apartments and live above their salaries.”
New twist
A new twist was added to the certificate racketeering rocking the university when a firm, Wealthroot, claimed it was hired by Fagbohun to unravel the scam. The firm in a statement said:
“Most disappointing, however, is the fact that the online platform went to press while we were yet to conclude investigation. The current LASU management neither covered the scandal nor attempted to protect the perpetrators, who are staffs of the university.”
Nobody signed the statement. It was written on plain paper with no office address.
