The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has arraigned one Hassan Manga, on charges bordering on forgery.
Mr Manga is a Principal Inspector with Niger command of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC.
He was accused of procuring and presenting a forged Nigeria Certificate in Education, NCE, Lower Credit certificate, from Adamu Augie College of Education in Kebbi state.
Spokesperson of the commission, Rasheedat Okoduwa, who disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, said that Mr Manga used the certificate to secure employment with the NSCDC in 2004.
She said that trouble began for the accused in 2016 when the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, suspected that many officials of agencies under the ministry had forged certificates.
“The minister wrote to ICPC to scrutinise the credentials of its personnel presented either at entry point or during the period of their service,” Mr Okoduwa said.
“As part of efforts to carry out reforms in the services to enhance professionalism, and in line with the current government’s change agenda, it has become necessary to scrutinise credentials of individuals in the service.
“This is as a result of the recent discoveries made of some fake credentials, especially degree certificates, by some personnel,” she quoted the minister’s letter as saying.
Mr Okoduwa said that the commission immediately swung into action and its investigation revealed that the NCE presented by Manga before he was employed by NSCDC, which he purportedly obtained in 2001, was forged.
“This is so as his name was not on the convocation list of that year,” she said.
NAN
