Cases of certificate forgery abound in the country. From notable politicians to the lowly placed in the society, the list of those caught is endless. Little wonder National Examination Council (NECO), an examination body has sacked 89 members of staff for the same offence, writes FRANK IKPEFAN.
Like a house built on faulty foundation, the careers of some workers of the National Examination Council (NECO) have come crashing. What they have left to deal with may be the rubbles.
About 89 of them have been disengaged by the examination body within the space of three months in the ongoing nation-wide verification exercise by the examination body.
Majority of them, who were alleged to have falsified their results/certificates, belong to the lower cadre. Most of them are in the categories of Executive Officers one and Executive Officer, General Duties. They are on the Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure (CONRAISS) levels 06 to 08.
Out of the 89 members of staff, only five are Chief Examination Officers on CONRAISS – 12; four Principal Examination Officers and six Senior Examination Officers.
For many years, the dismissed workers might have thought they were building careers. Many of them would have envisioned sitting at the helms at some point in future, or retire quietly into a life of comfort after 35 years of service.
Or at some point in their aborted careers, they might have felt jolted when they remember their crimes, knowing that the credentials they paraded were fakes. But whatever may be playing out in their heads as their envisioned future is gone. What is left may be the struggle not to go to jail.
In Nigeria, cases of certificate forgery are very rampant. From notable politicians to the lowly placed in the society, the list of those caught is endless.
Some individuals engage in the act of forgery for one reason or the other with the intent to deceive. The act is gaining popularity by the day.
Although there are laws in place to deal with forgery, however cases of prosecution arising from certificate forgery have remained low in the country.
How it all began
For the 89 NECO members of staff, the road has come to an end for their careers.
NECO is an examination body that conducts the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the General Certificate in Education (GCE) in June/July and November/December respectively.
It also conducts examination for pupils seeking admission into the 104 unity schools (unity colleges) in the country.
The examination body was created by former Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar in April 1999 as an indigenous examination body in Nigeria. It was the first federal organisation to offer subsidised registration to candidates in their academic careers in Nigeria.
The council, since Abubakar Gana took over in 2018 as the Acting Registrar/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), has been undergoing reforms. One of such major reforms is the verification of certificate of its workers.
Last year, the management of the council set up a Staff Certificate Verification Committee headed by Mustapha Abdul, a director in the agency, to check certificates used by its workers to gain employment into the agency.
The verification exercise has been sending jitters down the spines of some of the workers with skeletons in their cupboards since it began.
It may appear to be a normal routine exercise, but it has opened a can of worms.
The council wrote to the institutions the disengaged workers claimed to have attended and some of them were found to have questionable certificates. They were invited to appear before the committee where they allegedly confessed to the forgery.
NECO’s Head of Information and Public Relations Division, Mr Azeez Sani, said the examination body felt there was a need to put its house in order first.
“The committee was mandated to carry out the screening by inviting some workers with questionable credentials to appear before it, during which the affected members of staff attested that their certificates were forged,” Sani said.
89 dismissed so far, more may go
Since the verification exercise began last year, a total of 89 workers have been found to have forged their certificates. The workers have summarily been dismissed as recommended by the committee.
“The NECO Governing Board approved the dismissal of the workers at the 52nd regular meeting of the council,” Sani said.
He said the dismissal cut across all cadres of workers. “No director has been fingered so far in the ongoing verification exercise,” he said.
He added:”There is so far no Assistant Director, Deputy Director or Director found to have falsified results/certificates.”
Between November, last year and February this year, the examination body has dismissed 89 of its workers after they were found guilty by the verification committee.
The council had earlier dismissed 70 workers over certificate forgery in November, last year.
The latest figure of 19 workers brings it to a total of 89 workers disengaged from NECO within three months.
The statement announcing their dismissal last week reads: “The Governing Board of the National Examinations Council has approved the dismissal of 19 members of staff from her service for certificate forgery.
“A Staff Certificate Verification Committee constituted by the management carried out its assignment diligently by inviting some members of staff with questionable credentials to appear before it, during which the affected members of staff attested to the fact that their certificates were forged.
“The committee also contacted the schools and institutions which the affected workers claimed to have attended and the schools and institutions denied having certificated them,” the statement said.
Certificates of 1, 000 workers screened
Over 1,000 workers of the agency have been screened so far by their institutions in the ongoing nation-wide verification exercise.
The screening exercise covers workers in state, zonal and headquarters of the examination body in Minna, Niger State.
According to Abdul, about 157 members of staff of NECO that had cases to answer from the responses of their institutions have been invited for further screening by the committee.
More workers are likely to be disengaged from the service of the examination body going by the evidence before the committee, it was learnt. Some of the workers with questionable certificates are already jittery of the ongoing verification exercise, it was further gathered.
The Chairman, verification committee said: “Over 1,000 members of staff have been screened by their institutions, but only those with cases to answer are invited for further screening by the Verification Committee. So far, 157 members of staff of NECO that had cases to answer from the responses of their institutions were invited for further screening by the Verification Committee.
“Other cases that require further investigation are inconclusive. More cases are, therefore, being expected as the institutions respond accordingly. However, the screening is not limited to results/certificate.”
Dismissed workers face prosecution
Abdul, who is also the Director Human Resource Management of NECO, said the disengaged workers risk prosecution.
He noted that the names of those found to have forged their certificates have been forwarded to the Nigeria Police Force and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for prosecution.
“The details of those found with issues of falsification of results/certificates have been given to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for prosecution,” he said.
What the law says
Under the Criminal Code Act (which is applicable in the Southern part of the country), forgery is an offense. The Act provides, in Chapter 44, two to three years jail term, with an option of a fine, as punishment for forgery.
The Penal Code Act (which is applicable in the Northern part) also has similar provisions (with maximum of 14 years), where the guilt of the alleged offender is proved.
On the offence of forgery, the Criminal Code Act reads: “Any person, who forges any document, writing, or seal, is guilty of an offense which, unless otherwise stated, is a felony, and he is liable, if no other punishment is provided, to imprisonment for three years.”
Verification exercise may last for a while
Abdul said the council was not sure when the exercise will end.
“It is difficult to predict the duration of the exercise, since the responses from institutions are gradual and the members of staff affected are only invited for screening if there are issues raised on them by their institutions,” he said.