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A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced Samson Orijugo, provost of Adonai Advanced Institute of Management, to three years’ imprisonment for forging a Lagos State University (LASU) notification of result.
Justice Modupe Nico-Clay delivered the judgment on Wednesday after finding Orijugo guilty on a two-count charge of forgery, ruling that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The court held that Orijugo forged a notification of result on LASU letterhead in 2015 at Badagry, falsely presenting Adonai Institute as an institution affiliated with LASU. The document was issued to a student, John Chibuzor Okoro, as proof of academic completion.
Orijugo was arraigned on December 2, 2021, pleaded not guilty, and trial commenced on March 8, 2022. The prosecution, led by Mrs T. Olanrewaju-Daud, called three witnesses and tendered seven exhibits in support of its case, while the defendant testified in his own defence.
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In her judgment, Justice Nico-Clay ruled that the notification of result tendered before the court was forged and personally issued by Orijugo. The court relied on documentary and oral evidence showing that Adonai Institute had no affiliation with LASU, contrary to the claims made to the student and his family.
The first prosecution witness, Patience Okoro, the student’s mother, told the court that Orijugo introduced himself as provost of a Benin Republic-based institution allegedly affiliated with LASU. She testified that he issued her son a notification of result on LASU letterhead after his studies.
She further narrated how she met Orijugo in 2012 and expressed doubts about the claimed affiliation, having graduated from LASU herself. Despite her concerns, she said Orijugo insisted on the legitimacy of the affiliation and later showed them transcripts translated into English on LASU letterhead.
Another witness, Ojei Oziegbe, an Assistant Chief State Counsel, testified that LASU officially confirmed in writing that Adonai Institute of Management was not affiliated with the university. The court admitted the correspondence as evidence.
Rejecting the defence, Justice Nico-Clay ruled that the case centered on forgery of a notification of result, not the issuance of a degree certificate. She added that Orijugo knowingly presented the document as genuine to create a false impression of affiliation.
The court consequently convicted Orijugo on both counts and sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment.
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