One Mohammed Opeyemi, who owns an internet cafe on the premises of Kwara State Polytechnic in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, has been apprehended for allegedly forging fees clearance documents for the graduating students of the school.

The Rector of Kwarapoly and Chairman, Council of Heads of Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology in Nigeria, Alhaji Mas’ud Elelu, confirmed the arrest on Friday. He said Opeyemi was arrested by security personnel of the institution on Wednesday after he was caught with a stamp and signature specimen of the approving officer of the audit department of the institution.

Describing the action of the suspect as an economic sabotage and a dent to the image of the school, Elelu told newsmen that, “We caught him through our intelligent network. We caught him with some of the stamps and documents he had forged. He had stamps of the audit department and even the signature of the man in audit that normally signs the document.

“That audit paper is always presented before certificates are signed. The procedure is that at the end of payment by graduating students, there is verification, after which the audit department will certify.

“It is the paper from audit that is attached to the application sent to Exams and Records and then the calligrapher will now write the certificate and send it to the Registrar; then it will come to me as the final person that will sign.

“The document and signature of the person who certifies that a particular student has paid at the audit department are what Opeyemi used to forge. He has the stamp and the signature and we caught him. We have handed him over to the police. They are investigating and will definitely prosecute him.

“After investigation, any student or staff that is an accomplice of the culprit would be punished,” the Rector stressed, adding that Opeyemi’s cafe had been shut down and that investigations were on to arrest his accomplices.

He said the certificates that have been signed or to be signed by him have been stopped.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Ajayi Jeffrey, said the police was committed to arresting fraudsters, including those who engage in forgery.

Jeffrey urged people to desist from any criminal indulgence, adding that the law would catch up with people of questionable character in the state.

“After investigations, the police would ensure that the culprit is prosecuted,” the PPRO stated.