Five arrested for certificate, document forgery

Police have arrested five persons, Emmanuel Onyehiela, Ugorji Chibueze Ramsey, Emeka Chukwu, Chinyere Bright and Abdulazeez Sadiq, for certificate forgery. The Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO) Frank Mba, said the suspects were arrested after a team of operatives attached to International Police Organisation (INTERPOL) section, Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Abuja followed a tip-off from a concerned Nigerian.

According to him, a police team had carried out discreet investigation and later swooped on the syndicate which specialises in the forgery of certificates and other sensitive documents.
The syndicate, which allegedly has its operational base at the UTC Shopping Complex, Area 10 Garki, Abuja, specialises in forging of West African Senior School Certificate (WASSCE), university degrees, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificates, land documents, certificates of incorporation, etc. According to Mba, to catch the suspects red handed, some of the policemen posed as prospective clients.
He said: “The syndicate also engages in the falsification of travel documents and driver licences among others for a fee ranging from N5,000 to N30,000, depending on the socio-economic status of their ‘client’ or the urgency of the transaction.”
Exhibits recovered from the suspects are forged copies of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) documents, land documents of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), University of Abuja degree and official stamps and National Pension Commission clearance certificate.
Others are a certificate purportedly issued by the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Badagry, statement of result of Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi State, Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company tickets and other sundry fake documents.
Also recovered from them are electronic equipment used in perpetrating the crime such as laptops, desktops and printers. Mba said that the suspects had made statements to the police and would be charged to court as soon as investigation was concluded.