LASU certificate racketeering investigation close to conclusion

Add as a preferred source

The forensic firm Wealthroot, contracted by the Lagos State University(LASU) Ojo management to investigate the alleged certificate racketeering rocking the university, has said its investigations are almost concluded.

The company, in a statement on Monday by its General Manager, Benedict Okohnma, denied the claim that the current administration of the university led by Prof Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello had covered up the matter as well as attempted to protect perpetrators of the alleged crime, who are workers in the university.

According to the company, even though the investigations started in 2020 during the administration of the immediate past vice-chancellor of the university, Prof Olanrewaju Fagbohun, who gave them the job, the current administration has been working closely and assisting the company and other security agencies in the investigations.

“We’re only fine-tuning a few patchy areas after which the outcome of the investigation shall be made public,” the company added.

Faulting the online newspaper that blew the matter and made it public knowledge, even without getting its side of the story, the company explained how it got involved in the matter and the level of its investigations so far.

According to the company, a concerned LASU alumnus drew the university management’s attention to the alleged certificate racket in the university in 2020 and contracted us to unravel members of the syndicate involved in the act.

“Part of our assignments was to uncover their modus operandi as regards the process of recruiting their clients, administrative and academic process in the school server up to the point of clearance, and this required some of us to play along physically with them.

“We were also detailed to operate alongside some security agents to apprehend the perpetrators regardless of how highly placed they are, and during our investigations, we discovered that this act was being perpetrated through the university’s external system, otherwise known as Satellite Campuses, and not the Full-Time Regular Academic Programme as it was being projected in the media.

“We also found out that some members of these syndicates had once worked at the University’s External System at one point or the other and then took advantage of the university’s resolve to wind up the External System by clearing the backlog certificates of yet-to-be-graduated students of the system at the time.

“So, the university charged us to do a thorough job by taking our time to explore every patchy area to get all the details, and these took us some time so that we could gather undeniable evidence to nail those involved.

“Similarly, the university brought in the Department of State Service(DSS) and the university security guards as support hands while the investigation lasted and charged us to put forward our findings and recommendations and measures to prevent the recurrence of such ugly development in the university.

“So, as of the time the Saharareporters blew the story, our final report was yet to be submitted to the university as we are fine-tuning a few patchy areas that remain.”

READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE