The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has exposed a large-scale forgery involving at least 15,000 candidates who falsified admission letters to qualify for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.

Registrar of JAMB, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, revealed this on Monday during the NYSC Batch C Pre-Mobilisation Workshop held in Abuja. He confirmed that several suspects are already facing prosecution for forgery-related offences.

According to Oloyede, 17 deputy vice-chancellors, deputy registrars, and four JAMB staff members are currently in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in connection with the scandal.

“I was shocked when we discovered that 15,000 candidates forged admission letters,” Oloyede said. “As we speak, some university officials and JAMB staff are being tried by the ICPC. Those who wish to go to prison should do so knowingly—not by mistake,” he added

He urged all stakeholders to strictly adhere to admission guidelines to avoid similar infractions.

Meanwhile, NYSC Director-General, Brigadier-General Olakunle Nafiu, cautioned that persistent credential fraud and identity theft continue to threaten the credibility of the NYSC mobilisation process.

“Mobilising eligible graduates for national service remains at the heart of our mission,” Nafiu noted. “We cannot allow this process to lose public trust,” he said.

The Director of Corps Mobilisation, Rachel Idaewor, also highlighted that despite digital improvements, the NYSC still faces challenges with data integrity and fraudulent uploads of unqualified candidates.

Source; PM News