Forgery: 25 police officers face prosecution

Police authorities in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), are investigating no fewer than 25 police trainees, said to be involved in certificate forgery while applying for admission into police training schools.
The police training schools include Police Academy, Wudil, Kano.
Chairman, Police Service Commission (PSC), Mike Okiro, who confirmed the development recently in Abuja, said those involved in the crime would soon be prosecuted by the authorities.
The ex-Inspector-General of Police also told Daily Newswatch that PSC has received no fewer than 100 letters of complaints from some police officers “who were either maliciously dismissed or unjustifiably shown the way out of the force” and promised to ensure that justice would be done to all cases before the commission.
Okiro equally said “Police Resettlement Centre has since been submitted to the Presidency for official nod,” adding that “good days are here for the men and officers of the Nigeria Police, in as much as they adhere strictly to the police work ethics.”
Meanwhile, Daily Newswatch investigations revealed that not quite long ago, a national advertisement was placed by the authorities requesting that qualified and eligible candidates could apply for the posts of cadet inspector and assistant superintendent of police.
It was also learnt that over 10,000 applications were received, at the end of which less than 2,000 candidates were offered admission.
Routinely, all the credentials submitted by the admitted candidates had to be vetted and verified by the authorities, with a view to separating the wheat from the chaff.
Sources at the Louis Edet House, Shehu Shagari Way, Abuja, told Daily Newswatch that at the end of the certificate verification exercise, about 25 trainees were found to have “either forged or altered their credentials in a curious move to meeting up with the requirements.”
The sources said the erring candidates have been swiftly arrested by the authorities, who questioned them.
The student-forgers were said to have been dismissed following the “Orderly Room Trials.”
The authorities, according to the sources, “have promised to ensure that the indicted students are put through the wringer at the end of investigation.”
Investigations revealed that some of the student-forgers actually made false declarations regarding their age and credentials to gain admission into police colleges, while others “were later discovered to have inadequate qualifications.”
Chairman, PSC, Okiro, had, during a conversation with Daily Newswatch, said “the day of godfatherism in the police is over.”
Okiro stressed that “the minimum qualification for gaining admission to the cadetship category in the Nigeria Police remains Ordinary National Diploma or National Certificate in Education, which must be at the upper credit level.”