By Cheta Enyoghasi
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has invalidated the certificates of 101 individuals who were fraudulently mobilized for national service by the University Of Calabar (UNICAL) during the 2021, 2022, and 2023 service years.
The affected individuals were found to have been mobilized fraudulently, and their certificates have been canceled immediately.
The scheme which is committed to ensuring that only qualified individuals are issued certificates of national service has advised the public, including Corps Employers, Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Corporate and Religious Organizations, Multi-National Companies, and Corps Producing Institutions, to verify the authenticity of certificates presented to them
In his reaction, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the 14th Governing Council of the University of Calabar, UNICAL, DIG Udom Ekpoudom (retired), has expressed displeasure over the finding of huge credential forgeries at the university.
In an interview, Ekpoudom accused officials of the university of being culpable for the recent scandal.
He stated that the perpetrators are likely university staff and that investigations are underway to identify them.
He confirmed that the individuals involved are not UNICAL students but criminals, stating that the first phase of the investigation is the first step towards identifying the culprits.
In his words, “My belief is that those behind the crime are not far from University staff. We have since started investigations to uncover those behind this.
“NYSC has done very well to have uncovered this forgery. This is just the first phase. The next phase is for us to find out those behind this saga.
“I can confirm that those people are not students of UNICAL. These guys are criminals.”
