The University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, has raised the alarm that some individuals are impersonating the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Folasade Ogunsola, to defraud unsuspecting members of the public of their hard-earned income.
The university said the fraudsters presented themselves as the Vice-Chancellor and cajoled their victims into believing that the school had some procurement contracts to give out to interested suppliers.
The university raised the alarm on Tuesday in a statement made available to Nigerian Tribune by its spokesperson, Mrs Adejoke Alaga-Ibraheem.
According to the statement, the attention of UNILAG was drawn to a report that some individuals had contacted unsuspecting members of the public via various social media handles — LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and WhatsApp — falsely claiming to be the Vice-Chancellor and attempting to orchestrate pretend procurement processes for laptops/computers, with fabricated requirements for secrecy, upfront payments, and improper financial arrangements.
These individuals, the institution explained, did not stop there but went as far as proposing an illegal 60/40 profit-sharing deal and directing further communications to private email addresses rather than the university’s official communication domains.
“Now, we say categorically that UNILAG conducts all its procurement activities through transparent, competitive processes in full compliance with Nigerian Procurement Laws.
“So, at no time would any legitimate representative of UNILAG, let alone the vice-chancellor request upfront payments, proposes kickback arrangements, or conducts official business through personal email accounts or social media platforms.
“That is why communication such as the one in question should be considered fraudulent and reported immediately to appropriate authority authorities, which the university has done by escalating the matter to law enforcement agencies.
“We are cooperating fully with the investigators to identify and prosecute those responsible for the fraudulent deals.
“We also urge members of the public to always exercise extreme caution on matter like this as official communication from UNILAG always come through verifiable institutional channels and if in doubt should contact communicationunit@unilag.edu.ng or the Vice-Chancellor’s office directly at vcoffice@unilag.edu.ng.
“So, we remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and transparency even as we won’t also tolerate the misuse of our institution’s name or the impersonation of our officials for any dubious activities.”
(Tribune online)
