The federal government says over 22,700 Nigerians obtained fake degree certificates from Benin Republic and Togo.
Tahir Mamman, the education minister, spoke in Abuja on
Friday during a press conference marking his one year in office.
In January 2024, the federal government inaugurated a
committee to probe private universities established in the last 15 years.
The committee, headed by Jibrin Amin, a former vice
chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, was also mandated to investigate
degree certificate racketeering by foreign and local universities in Nigeria.
Mamman said the committee submitted a report to the federal
executive council (FEC) in July with recommendations for a reform.
He said about 22,789 Nigerians are parading fake degree
certificates obtained from Benin Republic and Togo between 2019 and 2023.
“We have had to take some major decisions here (at the
ministry of education). Some staff members who were affected faced disciplinary
measures. That whole unit had to undergo a review,” the minister said.
“We cannot have in our midst people who procured fake
certificates competing with students who graduated from universities and
polytechnics through their sweat, some spending four, five, six or more years.
“They cannot be going out to compete with people who
procured certificates right here in Nigeria without going anywhere.
“Through the data the NYSC has, about 21,684 students are
parading fake certificates from Benin Republic obtained between 2019 to 2023,
Togo about 1,105. They simply attended schools that are not recognised to offer
degree programmes by those countries.”
In late 2023, an investigative report exposed a booming
certificate racketeering syndicate in Benin Republic and Togo that specialises
in selling university degrees to willing buyers in Nigeria.
In the investigation, a reporter obtained a backdated
university degree certificate from Cotonou within six weeks without leaving
Nigeria.
The reporter proceeded to use the fake certificate to
participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme without
detection.
The investigation showed how racketeering agents in Nigeria
connive with the management of illegal university campuses in Cotonou.
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