UNIZIK suspends official for forging certificate

The Vice-Chancellor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, Anambra State, Prof. Charles Okechukwu Esimone, has approved the immediate suspension of a staff member, Nwafor Ogbonnaya Nwesuzor, for six months for allegedly presenting a forged degree result to the university.

This was made known in a statement issued by Special Adviser to the UNIZIK Vice-Chancellor (Public Relations and Special Duties), Dr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, on Thursday, November 2, 2023.

Ojukwu stated that Nwesuzor presented two degree certificates bearing Nwafor Osborne Ogbonnaya and Nwafor Ogbonnaya Nwesuzor to the university, adding that the six months suspension is to enable the university authorities carry out further investigations into the forgery allegation.

He noted that Nwesuzor, in an attempt to secure employment at UNIZIK, abandoned his undergraduate programme and forged the university’s statement of result and a letter of exclusion from the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC).

The UNIZIK VC’s spokesman stated that Nwesuzor, whose real name is Nwafor Ogbonnaya Nwesuzor, later went ahead to complete his degree programme, adding that the alleged forgery was discovered when he wrote to the university requesting to change his degree result.

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Ojukwu disclosed that new result submitted bears Nwafor Ogbonnaya Nwesuzor and different class of degree which raised suspicion.

He added: “Upon further investigation it was discovered that this staff forged his degree result and letter of exclusion from the NYSC based on the obvious disparity between the documents he submitted originally and the new documents he was trying to substitute.

“The class of degree in both results presented varies. The forged statement of result with the name Nwafor Osborne Ogbonnaya bears second class lower division while the original result with the name Nwafor Ogbonnaya Nwesuzor bears third class.

“In following due process, the vice chancellor in exercising his powers based on the university rules and regulations approved his (the official’s) immediate suspension from the employment of the university for six months while his case undergoes other processes in the university before final action.”

The Star