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There is no sign that senior staff of Lagos State University (LASU) Ojo fingered in the certificate racketeering scandal five months ago would face the Staff Disciplinary Committee (SDC) anytime soon.
Rather the university management is foot-dragging to constitute the SDC to try the affected staff and the action is generating ripples on campus.
While the current university management claimed it is awaiting the report of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) on the scandal, the DSS which burst the certificate racketeering concluded its findings three years ago and indicted some senior staff.
Attempts to sweep the certificate racketeering scam under the carpet have not achieved any headway as some staff insist the management must constitute the SDC to try the staff.
Daily Sun findings revealed that the delay to set up the SDC is now a subject of discussion among LASU staff.
A professor told Daily Sun that the university management disposition towards the scandal would create problems in the future.
His words: “The university rules and regulations are clear on the issue at hand. Immediately the certificate racketeering was exposed, the VC ought to have suspended the affected staff and constitute the SDC to try them.
“Five months after, the VC is foot dragging on the case. Staff with worse cases faced panel without delay. Why is this case different? Many staff are watching to see how the VC will handle the certificate racketeering issue.”
He said the Senate has not been briefed by the VC. The report ought to be tabled before the Senate for deliberation and the decision forwarded to the governing council for their action, stating, “a bad precedent is being set with this case.”
According to him, Nigerians and other universities are watching to see how LASU management would handle the certificate scandal.
Non-teaching staff told Daily Sun that the certificate racketeering would continue to haunt LASU if those indicted by the DSS are not held accountable for the fraud.
He insisted that going by the magnitude of the certificate scam, staff involved ought to have faced the SDC and the report tabled before the Senate before the governing council takes the final decision.
“The certificate scandal has made LASU a laughing stock in the Nigerian University System (NUS). Obviously, the VC is not bothered about the implications. Many LASU certificate holders are also worried about the situation,” he stated.
He also revealed that after foot dragging, it took the VC days and months to issue the affected staff queries and later their suspension.
The certificate racketeering which rocked the Lagos State University is the biggest scandal in the Nigerian University System (NUS).
The management of LASU despite assurances that the scandal would not be swept under the carpet, it has not set up the SDC to probe and refer their findings to the university Senate.
Daily Sun investigations further revealed that the university management has not even table the certificate racketeering to the Senate neither has the Governing Council being brief of the scandal.
Another senior staff member told Daily Sun that DSS had concluded investigations into the certificate racketeering and fingered some staff close to the previous and current university administration.
“Do you know that the university management is in possession of the DSS report that indicted some senior staff on the certificate scandal and has not done anything with it since November 2023,” our source stated.
She faulted a claim by a firm that it was still investigating the scandal and asked “who hired them and when? The firm statement was an attempt to delay the university management from taking action and the fraud swept under the carpet.”
But five months after inaction, finally the management of LASU has wielded the big stick on staff indicted in the certificate racketeering that rocked the institution.
The senior staff fingered in the sale of 104 LASU certificates have been sent on suspension and barred from entering the campus. Daily Sun also gathered that the affected staffs have also been placed on half salary.
The decision of LASU management to suspend the affected staff came as surprise to many staff and stakeholders because of the reluctance of the university to act on the report of the DSS, which investigated the certificate scandal.
Recalled that the only action the university management took when an online platform broke the news of the certificate scam was to remove one of the senior management staff from his position.
The indicted staff continued to perform their academic and administrative duties against the regulations of the university.
In November 2023, the VC told our Correspondent that “our internal disciplinary process is ongoing with regard to the individuals listed. It will interest you to know that the matter was already ongoing over a year before I assumed office.”
Investigations by Daily Sun revealed that since November 6, 2023 when an online platform broke the news of the certificate racketeering, the university management has not set up the SDC SDC to try staff indicted by the DSS report.
In its report on November 6, 2023, the online platform said that some of the staff fingered in the certificate fraud were promoted and even some as professors in the university.
The report disclosed that the sting operations were carried out with body cameras in the 2020/2021 academic session which was spearheaded by the previous administration and the DSS.
The online platform revealed that the DSS got confessional statements from some staff involved in the scam and the case ended with the administration of Prof. Fagbohun as VC. The platform stated that his successor, showed no interest in weeding out the bad eggs fingered in the fraud.
According to the online platform, staff of the university who wrote confessional statements at the DSS in Lagos includes Muyideen Zubairu, Daniel Amos, Olowu Abiona, Akindele Qudus Tunde, Oyebanji Olumide Ezun, Tajudeen Abayomi Olumoko, Hammed Ayofe Mutalib, and London Oghenemaro Vincent.
“The certificate racketeering syndicate have genuine Lagos State University certificates that anyone interested can purchase for between N2 million and N3 million, depending on the course involved,” the report stated.
According to the platform, during the sting operation money was paid at different times to Daniel Amos and Akindele Qudus Tunde for two degrees, one in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management.
Amos charged N2 million for the Industrial Relations and Personnel Management degree for one Adewoye Michael – whose O-level result was used but he was already a graduate of another school at the time. Within three days, the profile of Adewoye Michael including a newly generated matriculation number and fake results from year 1 to final year had been uploaded on the school’s server.
“Sadly, when the tenure of Prof Fagbohun ended and Prof. Olatunji-Bello came in, it turned out that some of those staff involved in the racketeering were part of those who helped her to become the VC. So, she has swept the matter under the carpet to shield them. Letters written by the DSS were ignored,” a source told the online platform.
The DSS sting operations discovered that no fewer than 104 people were issued ‘genuine’ LASU certificates by the syndicate at the time.
The Daily Sun reached out to the VC, Prof. Olatunji-Bello via text and WhatsApp messages, she did not respond to questions our Correspondent asked on why she has not constituted the SDC and referred the case to the Senate.
The questions were sent to the VC on March 6, which marked the fourth month the scam was exposed by an online platform based on the DSS investigations initiated by the previous university administration.
How long would the certificate racketeering in LASU be under probe, five months after an online platform exposed the scam. Only the vice chancellor can provide an answer to these all-important questions.
