Inibehe Okon, a self-acclaimed neurosurgeon currently embroiled in allegations of academic fraud, is not a student of the University of Texas at Austin, DUBAWA can confirm.
On Tuesday, 25 March, the University of Texas at Austin disassociated itself from Mr Okon, who also claimed affiliation with some other institutions.
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Mr Okon recently went viral after an image of him matching a system used to place medical students into United States residency programmes as a doctor at Johns Hopkins University surfaced online.
The viral photo sparked curiosity and admiration from many social media users, as users on X shared screenshots of their chat, in which he claimed he was still a student as of 2019. He also made similar claims on many social media posts.
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Mr Okon, whose ResearchGate profile lists him as a doctor of medicine and neurosurgeon affiliated with the University of Texas, has been accused of impersonation. His profile claims he has over 65 published academic journals. However, growing revelations from social media users, including former medical students of the University of Uyo, where he also claimed to have studied, raised questions about the authenticity of his credentials.
DUBAWA contacted the University of Texas to verify Mr Okon’s academic records. The institution replied that no individual by that name was enrolled or affiliated with them.
“The University of Texas at Austin has no current or former resident or student by the name you have inquired about,” Mike Rosen, the university’s assistant vice president for media relations, told DUBAWA.
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When DUBAWA reached out to Mr Okon via WhatsApp, he evaded the question of whether he attended the university or not. Instead, he responded that he had prepared a draft to announce his side of the story.
“I know if I did it or not at all. I will forgive them. I have prepared the draft to announce. I will come out to tell the whole truth and be sincere and very open to them,” he wrote.
He declined to provide further clarification and his phone line was switched off when we tried to call him.
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We also contacted Johns Hopkins University and the University of Uyo to clarify the allegations and inquire about his academic status. However, as of the time of this report, we have not received any response from the institutions.
Since allegations of academic fraud were levelled against him, Mr Okon has gone private on all his social media pages.
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