UNIMED Former VC Alleges Late Registrar Lived on Forged Certificates Amid Death Inquiry

In a dramatic session at the Coroner’s Court in Akure on Tuesday, Professor Adolphus Loto, former Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo State, made damning allegations that the late Registrar, Mr. Ezekiel Imole Adeniran, who died under suspicious circumstances in July 2025, built his career on forged academic credentials. Prof. Loto revealed that multiple reputable educational institutions, including the University of Southern Queensland, Australia, disowned the qualifications that Adeniran claimed to hold, notably a diploma in Leadership and Management and an MBA degree that he was proven never to have earned.

According to Prof. Loto, suspicions arose from staff whispers about fraudulent certificates, prompting him to scrutinize the Registrar’s file. He discovered glaring anomalies such as certificates with grammatical errors, inconsistent fonts, missing serial numbers, and dates conflicting with Adeniran’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) year. He recalled issuing an internal query to Adeniran in June 2025, which went unanswered, and despite instructions from the Pro-Chancellor to wait for the Governing Council’s decision, reported the matter to the police since certificate forgery is a criminal offense.

Further incriminating the late Registrar, Prof. Loto highlighted that Ajayi Crowther University had previously terminated Adeniran’s appointment for gross misconduct after he allegedly altered a student’s result from Third Class to Second Class Lower. Additionally, Elizade University submitted a negative character report to UNIMED and the Department of State Services (DSS). A UNIMED visitation panel later identified Adeniran as a serial certificate forger and recommended his dismissal—a report adopted by the Ondo State Government in a white paper.

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The circumstances of Adeniran’s death remain under intense scrutiny. The Registrar was summoned to the State CID to respond to the forgery petition on July 17, 2025, but never appeared. He was later found dead that same day at his residence. The Coroner’s Court is investigating whether the death was suicide, poisoning, or foul play, with testimony including a voice note allegedly recorded before his death in which Adeniran claimed he was forced to drink poison and mentioned Prof. Loto’s name. Prof. Loto categorically denied involvement, asserting his role was strictly to uphold the truth.

The inquest continues as authorities seek to unravel the full truth behind the death of the former Registrar, amid conflicting claims of voluntary suicide and assassination by unknown assailants linked to university officials. Prof. Loto submitted both hard and digital evidence to the court, including university correspondences, petitions, and the government white paper as the probe remains ongoing .