The University of Calabar (UniCal) has called on the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to release the names of the remaining 85 former students involved in fraudulent mobilization for the scheme.
In a statement issued on Wednesday in Calabar, the university’s Registrar, Mr. Gabriel Egbe, revealed that the institution had uncovered the fraudulent activities and promptly notified the NYSC.
Egbe stated that UniCal submitted a total of 178 names to the NYSC, identifying individuals who had engaged in fraudulent mobilization and those with suspicious matriculation numbers and departments.
“This information was detailed in a report submitted to the NYSC on February 1, 2024, and officially received on February 6,” Egbe said.
He commended the NYSC for taking action against 93 individuals mentioned in the report, but urged the scheme to identify and address the remaining 85 individuals.
Egbe explained that in September 2023, the university management received intelligence reports indicating that some students who had not yet met graduation requirements were already participating in the NYSC scheme.
This prompted an internal investigation, which confirmed the allegations and uncovered 11 cases of unauthorized access to the NYSC portal.
“In response, we sent a letter to the NYSC in October 2023, urging them to apprehend and prosecute those involved. The NYSC agreed to cooperate fully in the investigation,” Egbe noted.
He also mentioned that the university had communicated with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and established a full investigative committee.
The findings of the committee were forwarded to the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission.
The committee concluded its investigation on December 18, 2023, uncovering an additional 167 cases of criminal infiltration into the NYSC portal, bringing the total number of fraudulent entries to 178.
Egbe emphasized that none of the names involved in the scandal were found in the university’s records as graduates, and no department had uploaded these names to the NYSC portal.
As a result of these findings, the university suspended and launched an investigation into its Data Entry Officer, Mr. Obi Endurance.
He stressed the importance of fully exposing the perpetrators behind the fraudulent activities, arguing that merely invalidating certificates or de-kitting the culprits would not uncover those responsible for the crime.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NYSC recently invalidated the certificates of some former UniCal students over fraudulent mobilization for youth service.
