UNIMED: Former Acting VC Testifies Against Late Registrar, Alleges Career Built on Forged Certificates
The Coroner’s Court sitting in Akure was on Tuesday thrown into tension as damning allegations of certificate forgery took centre stage. Professor Adolphus Loto, former Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo, accused the institution’s late Registrar, Mr. Ezekiel Imole Adeniran, of sustaining his academic and professional career on forged credentials.
Prof. Loto, a Professor of Restorative Dentistry, narrated how Adeniran paraded qualifications that were later disowned by the institutions he claimed to have attended.
Australian University Disowns Certificates
The court heard that the University of Southern Queensland, Australia, through official correspondence, confirmed that Adeniran was never their student and had not been awarded either the diploma in Leadership and Management or the MBA degree he flaunted.
Trail of Misconduct Across Nigerian Universities
Loto further alleged that Adeniran’s employment history in Nigeria was marked by controversies. At Ajayi Crowther University, he said, the late Registrar was dismissed for gross misconduct after allegedly altering a student’s result from Third Class to Second Class Lower.
Similarly, Elizade University was reported to have issued a damaging character reference against Adeniran, submitting its findings not only to UNIMED but also to the Department of State Services (DSS).
Ondo Government White Paper Branded Him a Forger
A visitation panel report set up to review UNIMED’s activities also investigated Adeniran’s credentials. Its findings, later adopted by the Ondo State Government as a white paper, concluded that he was a serial forger and recommended his dismissal from the institution.
How Suspicions Began
According to Prof. Loto, the scandal began when he overheard whispers among staff suggesting that Adeniran’s certificates were fake. Upon retrieving the Registrar’s personnel file, he claimed to have discovered glaring inconsistencies — including certificates riddled with grammatical blunders, mismatched fonts, missing serial numbers, and dates that clashed with his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) year.
“I issued him a formal query on June 13, 2025,” Loto told the court. “But rather than respond, he reported me to the Pro-Chancellor. I was asked to wait for the Governing Council to sit, but forgery is a criminal offence beyond Council’s powers, so I escalated the matter to the police.”
Summoned But Never Appeared
The late Registrar was scheduled to appear at the State CID, Akure, on July 17, 2025, to respond to the petition. However, he never showed up. Later that evening, news filtered in that he had collapsed and died.
The Controversial Voice Note
The court also admitted the existence of a voice note allegedly recorded shortly before his death. In it, Adeniran reportedly claimed he was forced to drink poison and mentioned names — including that of Prof. Loto.
While acknowledging the recording, Loto dismissed any suggestion of involvement. “Because I exposed his forgeries, he saw me as an enemy. But I had no hand in his death,” he said firmly. “From all indications, the overwhelming evidence and reports against him could have pushed him into despair. My role was simply to uphold the truth.”
Evidence Submitted
Prof. Loto tendered both hard and soft copies of documentary evidence to the Coroner, including university correspondences, petitions to security agencies, and the Ondo State Government white paper.
Coroner’s Task Ahead
The Coroner continues to hear testimonies as the inquest works to unravel the true circumstances of Adeniran’s death — whether it was suicide, poisoning, or foul play.
