It is a known fact that many court premises in Lagos State are usually populated by youths scouting for people in need of affidavits and police reports.
However, investigations by PUNCH Metro showed that many of the youths had developed into syndicates, using court premises as centres for issuing fake driving licences, number plate, Certificates of Occupancy, survey plans and Tax Identification Numbers, among others.
It was learnt that these documents could be used to secure bail term, get loans from banks and to process documents for visas at embassies.
Investigations also showed that it takes electronic verifications to discover that these documents were cloned.
Our correspondent gathered that while some people deliberately patronised the syndicates to “reduce the stress and lower the high sum involved” in processing any of the documents at the appropriate government agencies, others were victims.
A policeman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said a member of one of the syndicates in the Ikeja Magistrate’s Court collected N80,000 to get a copy of CofO for a woman as part of the requirements to perfect her husband’s bail.
He said, “The woman reported the matter at our station. She was charged N150,000. She eventually paid N80,000. But this time, the court prosecutor was diligent and he took the document to the Lagos State Ministry of Lands for verification, where the document was found to be fake.”
A 61-year-old retiree, Mr. Olusegun Williams, also told our correspondent that one Layi at the Ikeja High Court got him a cloned hackney permit and road worthiness paper.
He said, “I paid N20,000 for them. I did not know those items were fake until Vehicle Inspection Service men arrested and fined me.”
Our correspondent, who went undercover, discovered that the forged version of a new driving licence cost N5,000 while N11,000 would be enough for a cloned number plate. It only required N10,000 to get a CofO which officially could cost about N400,000.
A member of the cartel assured our correspondent that the items were so similar with the originals that it would require experts to discover the difference.
An agent, Godwin, who operates on the Ikeja court premises, said unless customers insisted, he did not issue fake driving licences.
He said, “A driving licence costs N15,000 and it has to pass through the Federal Road Safety Corps. You will also do a test at the Vehicle Inspection Service office. Number plate with all the necessary documents is N35, 000. There are fake ones which you cannot detect. With N11,000, I can get one for you . But if VIO men catch you, it is a big problem. We also issue old driving licence to those who want to use it to open bank accounts.”
The leader of a syndicate, which specialises in forging CofO and identified himself simply as MS, said it took between N40,000 and N60,000 to secure a new CofO or a backdated one for a landed property.
He said, “A CofO can be a new one or backdated. The fresh one is N60, 000 while the backdated costs N40,000. If you go to the Lagos State Government, you will spend like N350,000.”
One Ade at the Igbosere Magistrates’ Courts demanded N100,000 for CofO from PUNCH Metro. He was, however, ready to reduce the price provided our correspondent was ready.
At the Apapa Magistrates’ Courts, one Joseph, who deals in driving licence procurement and processing of Tax Identification Number, TIN, told our correspondent how they operated.
He said, “We observe new customers closely before we attend to them. Most customs licenced agents prefer fake driving licence. I also help people, who do not have authentic certificate of incorporation, to process TIN at the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
“As a business enterprise, you will be asked to present your certificate of incorporation and TIN before you can be given loan in a bank. I help people to get it for N6,000.”
A woman, Mrs, Uche, said, “If you don’t have money to obtain the new licence, you can do affidavit and police reports. Any time you are stopped by the traffic officers, just tender them and say you have lost your licence. They will leave you. When it expires after three months, you can get another one.”
An agent, Shola, who operated between the magistrate’s and high courts in Ikeja, requested just N10,000 for processing the CofO when our correspondent contacted him that he wanted to use it to perfect a defendant’s bail. “That is my specialty. I have been into it for 13 years. I will do it in such a way that it will be difficult to differentiate from the original one. Some lawyers even come to me after they might have spent the money they collected from their clients for the original one. Many courts don’t verify it. But if it is in Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, it is risky to present it because they usually verify it at Alausa.”
Shola procured a CofO and a survey plan for our correspondent in less than 48 hours for N15,000. Apart from the money, all he requested were the name of the land owner, where the land was located, its size (a plot) and the address of the owner. A deposit of N10,000 paid to him while he collected the remaining N5,000 the following day after the documents were out.
The FRSC spokesperson in the state, H.U. Omeje, said the corps would intensify its effort in bringing the perpetrators to book.
“You are just giving me very good information. I will turn it in to the director of the Department of State Service and the Commissioner of Police for more investigation. In fact, we have been seizing fake unified driver’s licence. We have also confiscate several fake number plates.”
He, however, refuted the possibility that the perpetrators could be colluding with some insiders.
When contacted on whether the ministry was aware of the cloned CofO and survey plan, a former Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Land Bureau, Mrs. Tola Idowu, directed our correspondent to the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Akeem Muri-Okunola.
However, the PS could not be reached as his line indicated that it was switched off. He had also yet to reply to a text sent to his line.
Meanwhile, a senior officer in the ministry, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he was only aware that some people issued cloned CofO for perfecting bail conditions or as collateral in banks. He urged members of the public to toe the right path in processing the document.
The Lagos State Police spokesperson, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said the information would be investigated.
He said, “The claim will be investigated. Also, since you already know this group, you can as well furnish as with more details that will aid us to round them up as it is in the best interest of all of us to clean the society of such criminal elements.”
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