Lagos College Provost Bags Three Years For Forgery
The provost of Adonai Advanced Institute of Management, Samson Orijugo, was on Wednesday, convicted and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment by a Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja for forging a notification of result on the letterhead of Lagos State University.
Justice Modupe Nico-Clay convicted Orijugo on a two-count charge of forgery, holding that the prosecution proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court found that Orijugo, in 2015 at Badagry, forged a notification of result issued to a student, John Chibuzor Okoro, using LASU letterhead to falsely represent that Adonai Institute was affiliated with LASU.
Orijugo was arraigned on December 2, 2021, pleaded not guilty, and the trial began on March 8, 2022.
The prosecution, led by Mrs T. Olanrewaju-Daud, called three witnesses and tendered seven exhibits, while Orijugo testified in his defence.
In her judgment, Justice Nico-Clay held that the notification of the result tendered before the court was issued by the convict and was forged.
She relied on evidence establishing that Adonai Institute had no affiliation with LASU, contrary to the representations made to the student and his mother.
The first prosecution witness, Patience Okoro, the student’s mother, testified that Orijugo introduced himself as the provost of a Benin Republic-based institution affiliated with LASU.
She said he issued her son a notification of result on LASU letterhead after completing his studies.
Okoro told the court that she met Orijugo on May 12, 2012, in a commercial bus while returning from Iyana Oba Market.
According to her, Orijugo spoke about Adonai University, gave her flyers, and claimed the institution was affiliated with LASU.
Okoro explained that she expressed doubts because she was a LASU graduate and had never heard of such an affiliation, but Orijugo insisted that the university was one of the best in the Benin Republic and affiliated with LASU.
Another prosecution witness, Ojei Oziegbe, an Assistant Chief State Counsel at the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, testified that she wrote to LASU during the investigation and received a reply confirming that Adonai Institute of Management was not affiliated with LASU.
“The document was presented as genuine on an LASU letterhead to create the false impression of affiliation,” the court held, adding that Orijugo, as an administrator of the institution, knew the claim was false.
Justice Nico-Clay consequently convicted Orijugo on both counts and sentenced him to three years imprisonment.
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
