Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta, Ogun State is facing a major academic integrity crisis as no fewer than 49 final-year Higher National Diploma (HND) students are at risk of expulsion after a recent result verification exercise uncovered the alleged use of forged National Diploma (ND) certificates.
According to findings by NEW DAILY PRIME on Thursday, the institution revealed through an official verification update that these students submitted fraudulent ND results to gain admission into various HND programmes.
The affected students are spread across multiple departments, including Mass Communication, Pharmaceutical Technology, Marketing, Science Laboratory Technology, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Accountancy, among others.
Investigations showed that several of the forged certificates were purportedly obtained from reputable institutions such as The Polytechnic, Ibadan; The Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro; Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic, Eruwa; and Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa in Oyo State.
In a related development, MAPOLY had earlier announced an indefinite shutdown of the campus on Monday to preempt a planned protest by students over these allegations.
Addressing the situation, the institution’s Public Relations Officer, Yemi Ajibola, explained to NEW DAILY PRIME that the verification exercise was a routine procedure aimed at authenticating documents submitted by students.
He attributed the delay in releasing some results to the extensive verification process, which ultimately uncovered the fraudulent submissions.
“We have established internal systems for thoroughly verifying the results submitted by our students,” Ajibola stated. “Some results remain unverified because their issuing institutions have yet to confirm them, while others have been confirmed as fake. Administrative delays caused a backlog in verification, but we are working diligently to resolve these issues.”
Ajibola clarified that the accused students would not face immediate expulsion. Instead, the institution will formally invite each of them to defend the authenticity of their credentials.
“They will be given the opportunity to clarify discrepancies. If any errors are found on our part, they will be corrected. However, students who cannot validate their results will face expulsion,” he warned.
Meanwhile, tensions on campus have intensified following reports of a clash between students and Ogun State’s Deputy Governor, Mrs. Noimot Salako-Oyedele.
The state government claimed the deputy governor narrowly escaped an attack by protesting students, while the students alleged that her security team fired gunshots during the confrontation.
This growing controversy has placed MAPOLY under scrutiny, raising urgent concerns over academic fraud and campus security.
