Lagos Court Sentences Adonai Institute Provost to Three Years for Forgery
A Lagos State High Court in Ikeja on Wednesday sentenced Samson Orijugo, the provost of Adonai Advanced Institute of Management, to three years’ imprisonment for forging a notification of result on Lagos State University (LASU) letterhead.
Justice Modupe Nico-Clay convicted Orijugo on a two-count charge of forgery, ruling that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court found that in 2015, at Badagry, Orijugo forged a notification of result for a student, John Chibuzor Okoro, falsely claiming that Adonai Institute was affiliated with LASU.
Orijugo, who was arraigned on December 2, 2021, pleaded not guilty. The trial commenced on March 8, 2022. The prosecution, led by Mrs. T. Olanrewaju-Daud, called three witnesses and presented seven exhibits, while the accused testified in his defence.
Court Highlights Forgery
In her judgment, Justice Nico-Clay stated that the notification presented in court was issued by Orijugo and was forged. She emphasized that Adonai Institute had no official affiliation with LASU, contrary to claims made to the student and his mother.
The student’s mother, Patience Okoro, testified that Orijugo introduced himself as provost of a Benin Republic-based institution affiliated with LASU. She recalled meeting him on May 12, 2012, on a commercial bus returning from Iyana Oba Market, where he handed her flyers and promoted the school’s alleged connection with LASU.
Okoro said she later visited Orijugo’s residence with her son, where he showed them transcripts on LASU letterhead. She also made independent inquiries at the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja, which confirmed that the school was recognized but had no English or French sections linked to LASU.
She explained that she had paid tuition, medical fees, mobilisation, and convocation charges multiple times, often without receipts. Her son never received a certificate, and the documents were later discovered to be fake when he sought employment in 2018, causing him severe psychological distress.
Another prosecution witness, Ojei Oziegbe, an Assistant Chief State Counsel at the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, confirmed through correspondence with LASU that Adonai Institute had no affiliation with the university. The letters were admitted as evidence.
Defence Dismissed
The court rejected Orijugo’s defence, noting that the case centered on the forgery of the notification of result, which he admitted giving to the student. Justice Nico-Clay also dismissed the argument that a LASU official should have been called, ruling that the documentary evidence sufficed.
“The document was presented as genuine on LASU letterhead to create a false impression of affiliation. Orijugo, as an administrator, knew this was false,” the judge stated.
Orijugo was consequently convicted on both counts and sentenced to three years in prison.
