Monrovia, Liberia – An investigative committee at the University of Liberia (UL) has revealed a serious case of academic fraud involving Commerce Inspector General, D. Dorr Cooper. Cooper was fraudulently included in the 104th Commencement Convocation without ever being an official student, sparking widespread outrage and calls for institutional reforms.
The investigation, initiated after the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Agnes Reeves-Taylor, was alerted to irregularities, uncovered that Cooper’s name appeared on the final graduation roster despite him not being enrolled at UL. The committee, led by Dr. S. Morris Cooper, confirmed that Cooper’s student identification number had been illegally swapped with that of a deceased former student, Mr. Dahngbaye M. Wogbeh, in 2015. “It was revealed that on November 11, 2015, at 2:15 p.m., the University’s records were altered,” states the report.
Further fraudulent alterations occurred in May 2024, when a university staff member, Mr. Jonathan Kangar, manipulated the records of a previous graduate, Niome Nowah Tyler, to reflect Cooper’s eligibility to graduate falsely. The committee noted, “Mr. Kangar swapped Ms. Niome Nowah Tyler’s records and placed them under the ID number now bearing the name D. Dorr Cooper.”
Despite these changes, Cooper had only completed one course, which he failed in 2017. His name, however, was cleared for graduation by various university officials. Mr. Goffa Suah, Coordinator of the Public Administration Department, and other key staff members admitted to their involvement in the fraudulent clearance process. “Reliable sources confirmed that Mr. Augustine Z. Garpi helped in the distribution of the money received from Mr. Cooper,” the report noted
The investigative committee has recommended that those involved face immediate dismissal and prosecution. “Mr. D. Dorr Cooper should be prosecuted by the Ministry of Justice for academic fraud,” the report concluded.
This scandal has raised alarms about the integrity of Liberia’s educational institutions and the UL’s procedures, leading to demands for stricter oversight and the creation of a national academic database for verifying credentials
Liberian-born Emmanuel Orlind Cooper is an accomplished multimedia journalist with extensive experience covering news and stories on a variety of media platforms. Orlind's work frequently demonstrates his profound grasp of the region and its complexity, given his Liberian heritage.
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