Admission Fraud: LASCOHET Provost Cautions Public As Cybercafe Operator Swindles Woman of N1.5m
The Provost of Lagos State College of Health Technology, Professor Raheem Akewushola, has issued a warning to the general public after a cybercafé operator allegedly defrauded an admission seeker of ₦1,500,000.
The operator, identified simply as Arapatile fraudulently got the money under the guise of helping the applicant, a middle aged woman secure admission into the college.
The incident came to light after the applicant (name withheld) filed a petition with the college when the promised admission never materialised.
According to the college statement shared on the Lagos government’s official X account on Sunday, the complainant paid an initial ₦500,000 into the account of (name withheld) as part of the admission arrangement.
When admission was not secured, Arapatile reportedly assured her she could attend classes later and even obtain a certificate, but the applicant demanded a refund.
The statement says Arapatile threatened to silence her, which led her to petition the school management.
“During the interrogation of Mr. Arapatile by the Management of LASCOHET, led by the Provost, Professor Akewushola, he confessed to the allegation levelled against him, stating that the admission was not for LASCOHET, but a professional body, CIMB, an association that he claimed to be a Liaison Officer for, but could not give the full name of the acronym.
“Upon preliminary investigation, stamp pads of some institutions were also retrieved from his shop while further investigations are still ongoing,” the statement read.
The provost condemned a brazen act and warned the public not to transact with Mr. Arapatile, stressing that he is neither a staff member nor an authorised agent of LASCOHET.
“Our administration has zero tolerance for such acts,” Akewushola said, adding that the college would pursue all avenues to bring perpetrators to book and ensure appropriate punishment.
In parallel, the Acting Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Carol Chinyelugo Arinze-Umobi, said the school has begun a crackdown on admission racketeering in the institution.
This was after the school ordered disciplinary sanctions against a staff member, (name withheld), for allegedly fraudulently collecting ₦400,000 from a prospective student’s mother, with the promise of securing admission for her son into the Faculty of Medicine.
Hafsoh Isiaq is a graduate of Linguistics. An avid writer committed to creative, high-quality research and news reportage. She has considerable experience in writing and reporting across a variety of platforms including print and online.
