The Provost of the Lagos State College of Health Technology (LASCOHET), Prof. Raheem Akewushola, has condemned an alleged case of admission fraud after a cybercafé operator reportedly defrauded a woman of ₦1.5 million under the guise of securing her admission into the institution.
The case came to light after the victim (name withheld) petitioned the college when the promised admission failed to materialise. According to a statement released by the Lagos State Government on its official X handle on Sunday, the complainant had initially paid ₦500,000 into the account of the suspect, identified as Mr. Arapatile, as part of the fraudulent admission deal.
When the admission did not come through, Arapatile allegedly assured her that she could still attend classes and later obtain a certificate. The woman, however, demanded a refund, which led to threats from the suspect.“During the interrogation of Mr. Arapatile by the management of LASCOHET, led by the Provost, Professor Akewushola, he confessed to the allegation levelled against him, stating that the admission was not for LASCOHET but a professional body, CIMB, which he claimed to be a Liaison Officer for but could not explain the acronym,” the statement read.
Preliminary investigations also revealed that stamp pads of some institutions were recovered from his shop, while further investigations are ongoing.Prof. Akewushola urged the public to avoid dealings with Arapatile, stressing that he is neither a staff member nor an accredited agent of LASCOHET.
“Our administration has zero tolerance for such acts,” he said, adding that the college would pursue all legal avenues to ensure perpetrators are punished.In a related development, the Acting Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Carol Chinyelugo Arinze-Umobi, disclosed that the institution had begun a crackdown on admission racketeering.
This followed disciplinary action against a staff member accused of fraudulently collecting ₦400,000 from a prospective student’s mother in exchange for a promise of admission into the Faculty of Medicine.
