Operatives of Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Independent Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, have arrested two
certificate forgers at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The suspects, Onosemuode Roland, and Jacobson Ubong Jonathan,
according to the ICPC, specialized in forging school certificates of
the university as well as forging primary school leaving results,
diploma and degree certificates.
The commission stated that the principal suspect, Roland (aka Rolex),
was arrested through a sting operation carried out by its operatives
at the Choba campus of the university.
The ICPC said its undercover operatives had approached Roland for a
certificate of the institution which he agreed to produce, charging
them N45,000.
“Earlier, ICPC undercover operatives approached Mr. Roland and
requested him to produce an original Bachelor of Engineering
Certificate in Chemical Engineering to aid in employment into one of
the oil servicing companies, which he agreed to do for N45,000,” the
ICPC said.
Roland was arrested after producing the forged degree certificate and
on receiving the balance sum of N25,000 marked money.
Subsequently, he volunteered a statement in the presence of Atarhinyo
Solomon Igho and a lawyer Dennis Enyi Nwokah, where he admitted the
allegation of certificate forgery and mentioned Jonathan as a
conspirator who was later arrested by ICPC.
The suspects have since been granted administrative bail by the commission.
They will be charged to court for committing offences that contravene
sections 15 and 25 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Act, 2000.
