Two men have been sentenced to one and a half years imprisonment each for forging certificates of the Federal University of Education, Pankshin, Plateau State, following the exposure of a certificate forgery syndicate by the management of the institution.
Jere Ndazhaga, a Professor and the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the university disclosed this on Monday during a press conference in Jos, stating that the institution uncovered and arrested a syndicate that specialised in forging and issuing fake academic certificates to unsuspecting members of the public.
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“Gentlemen of the press, it is important to state clearly that the University recently uncovered a nefarious activity of a syndicate specialised in forging, faking and alteration of academic results and issuing same purportedly to have been issued by the defunct Federal College of Education, Pankshin,” Ndazhaga said.
He explained that the case was formally reported to the State Intelligence Department (SID) on Monday, 17 November 2025, at about 4:30 p.m., following credible intelligence that criminal elements were producing fake results and certificates bearing the name of the university.
According to the Acting Vice-Chancellor, the suspects were arrested, investigated and charged to court, where they were found guilty and subsequently sentenced to one and a half years imprisonment each at the Pankshin Correctional Centre.
“The two suspects were found guilty, convicted by a competent court of law and sentenced to one and a half (1½) years imprisonment each,” he added, naming them as Friday Tunkyes of Mikang Local Government Area and Harvey Obed Ringsum of Mangu Local Government Area.
The Professor further revealed that during the operation, numerous forged certificates of various academic qualifications, as well as the official emboss stamp and seal of the institution, were recovered from the suspects, noting that none of them had ever studied or worked at the university.
He reaffirmed the institution’s zero tolerance for forgery and related crimes, stressing that the Federal University of Education, Pankshin—recently upgraded from a Federal College of Education and now fully engaged in academic activities—would continue to collaborate with security agencies to safeguard its integrity and academic standards.
