UNIMED CONFESSES: We Skipped Registrar’s Background Check Due to Lack of Funds
The management of the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo State, has admitted that it appointed the late Registrar, Mr. Imoleayo Adeniran, without verifying his academic and professional credentials — citing lack of funds and time constraints.
Appearing before the Coroner’s Court in Akure, Professor Ayo Arowojolu, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of UNIMED’s Governing Council, said the university could not afford to conduct proper background checks when the vacancy arose.
The Vice-Chancellor told me the cost of conducting background checks was enormous,” Arowojolu testified. “The university was struggling financially and could barely pay salaries, so we relied on referees’ reports and interview performance.”
When asked why the university failed to appoint an acting registrar while verification was ongoing, Arowojolu explained that the Governing Council was under intense pressure to fill the position immediately before the expiration of the outgoing registrar’s tenure.
“Time was not on our side,” he added. “The registry could not function without a head, and council felt it would be better to confirm someone right away than allow administrative vacuum.”
The latest disclosure ties back to earlier testimony by Professor Adolphus Loto, a former Acting Vice-Chancellor of UNIMED, who had told the court that the late registrar was appointed through a flawed and irregular process.
Loto had further alleged that the deceased’s certificates were forged, and that universities in Australia and Nigeria later disowned him when verification was eventually carried out.
Loto’s petition to the police over the alleged forgery reportedly triggered the late registrar’s final days of distress before his death in July 2025.
Meanwhile, Mr. Adeniran had been buried quietly at his residence in Akure.
An autopsy ordered by the Coroner had been conducted as part of ongoing investigations into the circumstances surrounding his death.
