ICPC Clamps Down On Online Academic Fraudsters

By Matthew Ogune, Abuja
Following intelligence received on criminal activities, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arrested a group of people involved in the advertisement and sale of completed academic projects to students online. 

ICPC Spokesperson, Azuka Ogugua who disclosed this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja added that the suspects allegedly package and market plagiarized academic projects to desperate students to assist them unlawfully fulfil the requirement for the award of different degrees across the country.

Ogugua noted that, Investigations revealed that some of the culprits of the online project scam were resident at Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu and Anambra States.

She further disclosed that, ten suspects were arrested, out of which six have been released on bail, while the remaining four who were seriously implicated in the matter are still assisting the Commission with useful information.

Items seized from the suspects for forensic analysis according to the Spokesperson are, laptops and mobile phones, adding that they will be returned to the suspects after investigations provided they are not required as exhibits. 

She continued: “The arrest was a result of ongoing inter-agency collaboration between the ICPC and the National University Commission (NUC), aimed at putting an end to the fast-rising scam on academic projects on the internet.

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“ICPC hereby wishes to advise all Nigerian students not to fall prey to this ploy by fraudsters on the internet as one caught patronizing their sites would not be spared as the Commission would bring to bear appropriate laws against plagiarism and examination malpractice on them.”