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From Gyang Bere, Jos
A 22-year-old student of Jos ECWA Theological Seminary (JETS) in Plateau State, Alamba Denis, has been arrested by the police for the forgery of Industrial Training Fund (ITF) skills acquisition form.
With the help of ITF staff, he was picked on January 6, 2022, at his residence in the Farin-Gada axis in Jos North Local Government Area of the state by operatives and taken to Anglo-Jos Police Division for further questioning.
Alamba confessed to have printed ITF forms in December 2021 and was selling them to members of the public at N700 each.
He had engaged the services of two women who were photocopying the forged forms and selling them to women and youths in different parts of Plateau. Though the women were said to be unaware that they were into illicit deal.
The student claimed that the women had sold several forms amounting to about N85,000 between December 2021 and January 2022.
Alamba confessed that he printed the form showing ITF, in collaboration with Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), offering skills acquisition programme to members of the public. He said he brought CAN into it in order to enable him attract the attention of Christian youths and women.
Alamba, who spoke to journalists in Jos, said: “I am a student of JETS. I forge ITF form for skills acquisition programme and I am selling it to members of the public.
“I forged the form in December 2021 because I was sent away from school for lack of payment of tuition fee. I had nobody to assist me, that was why I forged the form and I am selling them to pay my school fees.
“I printed the original copy and I gave two women who are photocopying and selling to people. The women have realized N85,000 from selling the forms and they have handed over the money to me.”
Alamba, who hails from Gashes District of Barkin-Ladi LGA, said the reason he chose to forge the ITF form, in collaboration with CAN, was based on the fact that ITF had taken several Nigerians out of poverty through their skills acquisition programmes, therefore, making it easy to believe.
When asked how he intended to link those who purchased the forms with ITF, he said: “It is a lie, there is no skills acquisition programme anywhere. I just wanted to get money out of desperate Nigerians for my school fees.
“I chose ITF because they normally help people and I brought the name of CAN into the deal because, if people see CAN, they will be interested to buy the forms.”
The suspect claimed that his seminary had sent him for internship to Regional Church Council (RCC), Gigiring, Jos, without giving him any financial assistance that could assist in paying his tuition and meeting his other financial needs while in the school.
“I understand the consequences of the crime I have committed and I am pleading with ITF and the police that I have been handed over to to show mercy and I promise to pay all the money I have collected from the public,” he pleaded.
The director of administration and human resources, ITF, Ishola Tajudeen, advised Nigerians to be conscious of the activities of fraudsters bent on defrauding unsuspecting people of their resources.
“I wish to inform Nigerians that our forms for skills acquisition are not sold. It is free of charge, and no ongoing employment. If we are to recruit, we will advertise in two national newspapers, based on the instruction of Federal Government, so that everybody will know.
“Our recruitments are always known to Nigerians, and always free. We don’t collect money from anybody. So, don’t give anybody money in the name of recruitment in ITF,” he advised.
On how he knew about Alamba’s crime, he explained that a distress call was put across to him that ITF’s form for skills acquisition programme was on sale to the general public.
Tajudeen said: “When we got the report, we set machinery in motion to find out if the information was true or not. In the process, I saw a copy of the form being sold to a Nigerian at a fee.”
He said that the forged form which is completely different from that of ITF was being sold at different fees with tailoring going for N700, barbing N1.000, saloon N700, among others.
“I want to say clearly that the form for ITF skills acquisition is free, the training is free, start-ups pack free. We do it as empowerment programme to enable Nigerians acquire skills and stand on their own.
“I went to the house of the young man, who committed the atrocity yesterday and met him with the forms, and we handed him over to the police,” he stated.
