The extortion and certificate racketeering saga at Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, yesterday, claimed first casualty as the school suspended the Dean of Student Affairs (DSA), Prof. Tajudeen Olumoko, directly linked to the controversy.

The suspension followed a media report that a syndicate sells certificates for between N2 million and N3 million, depending on course of study.
A senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science, Dr. Abiodun Fatai-Abatan, was subsequently appointed as acting DSA.

Already, the House of Assembly has summoned the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Tolani Akibu and other top staff of the institution over the allegations.

The report had recalled that a sting operation, spearheaded by the school management during the administration of Prof Olanrewaju Fagbohun and the Department of State Services (DSS) exposed certificate racketeering in the institution, with some members of the syndicate allegedly confessing to the crime.

But since Fagbohun’s exit two years ago, nothing was heard of the matter. Some officials, who spoke with The Guardian on condition of anonymity, confirmed that some ‘powerful’ persons were behind the act.

A member of staff said the syndicate charges as high as N5 million for a certificate, depending on course of study and time of collection.
However, Coordinator, Centre for Information and Public Relations, Oluwayemisi Thomas-Onashile, while denying the allegation, said investigation was ongoing and would be concluded before the end of the year.

In a related development, the Senate has launched investigation into allegations of fraudulent admissions into universities across the federation.

The move followed a motion moved by Senator Onyeka Nwebonyi (Ebonyi North) at yesterday’s plenary. In the motion, the sponsor claimed that university workers were working in cahoots with Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) officials for financial gains.

He said some JAMB officials had reverted to the practice of provisional admissions into prized professional courses like medicine and surgery, pharmacy, law, engineering, nursing science, with a view to shortchanging some students already offered admissions in exchange for money.

Nwebonyi alleged: “The travails of one Miss Chinyere Ekwe and 290 others that were admitted to study medicine and surgery at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), but had their admissions truncated on the order of JAMB for no plausible reason, after they had completed the admission processes and resumed lectures.”

“Miss Ekwe, in particular, scored 291 in the 2019 UTME and 300 in the university’s post-UTME, which qualified her for the course and was subsequently admitted by the university.

“The said Chinyere Ekwe was transferred to the department of medical laboratory science on the ground that if her cumulative grade is up to 4.5 points after the first year, she would be transferred back to medicine and surgery.”

Consequently, the upper legislative chamber, therefore, directed its Committees on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND as well as Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to swiftly probe the allegation of admission racketeering in tertiary institutions.

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, harped on fair hearing for all accused parties, stating that JAMB and UNN are known to be reputable institutions.