A High Court in Minna, Niger State, has sentenced a dismissed staff member of the National Examinations Council (NECO), Abdulwahab Sule, to 24 years imprisonment for certificate forgery and related offences.
The conviction was secured by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) before Justice Abdullahi Mikailu.
Sule was found guilty on a three-count charge bordering on the use of forged documents, possession of fraudulent credentials, and making false statements.
According to the ICPC, the convict fraudulently used a forged diploma certificate purportedly issued by the Modibbo Adama University (formerly Federal University of Technology, Yola) to secure employment with NECO in January 2009.
He remained in service until September 2020 when irregularities in his credentials were discovered, leading to his dismissal.
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Investigations revealed that the certificate, dated March 18, 2008, did not originate from the university. The institution also confirmed that Sule had not completed his studies and still had outstanding courses at the time he claimed to have graduated.
Further findings showed that he falsely declared to NECO’s Director of Human Resource Management in August 2020 that he had obtained the diploma certificate.
During interrogation, Sule admitted he never completed his studies and confessed to paying ₦30,000 to obtain the forged certificate from an unidentified individual.
Justice Mikailu subsequently sentenced him to 12 years imprisonment on count one, 10 years on count two, and two years on count three.
The sentences are to run concurrently, meaning he will serve a total of 12 years in prison.
The ICPC reiterated its commitment to sanitising public institutions and warned that acts of forgery and falsification of records will continue to attract strict legal consequences.
It also urged organisations to regularly verify employees’ credentials to prevent similar cases.
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