LAGOS - The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old
banker, Daniel Makanjuola, who out of desperation to get a job and turn the economic situation of his family around took to the forgery of his credentials as well as a reference letter to secure employment at the
Wema Bank Plc, Marina branch, on the Lagos Island.
The police said Makanjuola had paraded himself as a degree
holder in marketing with Second Class, Upper Division, before his arrest. He was also said to have tendered a forged National Youth
Service Corps discharge certificate and a reference letter to the bank. He
claimed to have obtained the letter from United Bank for Africa, his purported
former workplace.
Reports has it that, the suspect, who hails from Ijero Local
Government Area in Ekiti State, had joined the bank in 2013, before he was
sacked in July 2015 after the documents were confirmed to be fake.
It was gathered that the fraudulent act was discovered after
the management sent a letter to the UBA to verify the genuineness of the
reference letter. The UBA was said to have denied knowledge of Makanjuola and
the letter.
The discovery prompted the bank to write West African
Examinations Council and LASU, which also disclaimed the results. The suspect
was arrested after the case was reported at the Lion Building Police Station.
The bank’s Public Relations Officer, Emela Esohe, said
Makanjuola owned up to the act before a disciplinary committee.nThe suspect, in a statement he made to the police, also
confessed to the crime and explained how he obtained the forged certificates. He said he resorted to the act to alleviate the poverty in
his family, adding that it was one Vincent who helped him to get the reference
letter.
Makanjuola said:
“I am actually a National Diploma holder. I secured the fake WASCE and LASU results, using a search engine and CorelDraw application. I scanned an NYSC certificate and used some applications to edit it. I did it in order to put an end to the suffering of my poor family. I am the only son of my father. I want the authority to be compassionate with my case. I was only trying to live a better life.”
He has been charged to court on a three-count charge of
forgery.
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