The Lagos State College of Health Technology (LASCOHET) has uncovered a case of admission fraud after a cybercafé operator allegedly duped a woman of N1.5 million under the false promise of securing her admission into the institution.
According to a petition filed by the victim, she initially paid N500,000 to the suspect, identified as Mr. Arapatile, but the admission never materialised. When she demanded a refund, he allegedly threatened to silence her.
In a statement shared on the Lagos State government’s official X handle, LASCOHET confirmed that Arapatile confessed during interrogation led by the Provost, Professor Raheem Akewushola.
He claimed the admission offer was not for LASCOHET but for a professional body, CIMB, which he purported to represent. However, he failed to explain the acronym or provide proof of its existence. Stamp pads from multiple institutions were recovered from his shop as part of preliminary investigations.
Professor Akewushola warned members of the public to steer clear of Arapatile, stressing that he is not a staff member nor an authorised agent of the college. He vowed that the institution would ensure perpetrators of such racketeering face the full weight of the law.
Meanwhile, the Acting Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Professor Carol Chinyelugo Arinze-Umobi, disclosed that the institution had also uncovered a similar case. A staff member was indicted for collecting ₦400,000 from a student’s mother in exchange for admission into the Faculty of Medicine. Disciplinary sanctions have since been initiated.
Both institutions reiterated their zero tolerance for admission fraud and urged applicants to avoid unauthorised channels in pursuit of admission.