The Federal Government has announced that only eight universities in Togo and Benin Republic are accredited to award degrees to Nigerian students.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, on Sunday night during an appearance on Channels Television’s “Sunday Politics” program.
Mamman revealed that over 22,500 Nigerians had obtained fake degree certificates from institutions in Togo and Benin Republic. He emphasized that these fraudulent certificates would be canceled following the findings of a committee tasked with investigating the issue of degree certificate racketeering by foreign and local universities.
The investigation was prompted by an undercover report in which a Nigerian journalist obtained a degree from a university in Benin Republic in less than two months and used it to secure a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) placement.
During the program, the minister clarified that the federal government recognizes only three institutions in Togo and five in Benin Republic as legitimate universities. The rest were identified as illegal.
**Approved Universities in Togo:**
1. Université De Lomé
2. Université De Kara
3. Catholic University of West Africa
**Approved Universities in Benin Republic:**
1. Université D’Abomey-Calavi
2. Université De Parakou
3. Université Nationale Des Sciences, Technologies, Ingénierie Et Mathématiques
4. Université Nationale D’Agriculture
5. Université Africaine De Développement Coopératif
The minister reiterated that there is no going back on the federal government’s decision to cancel approximately 22,700 certificates obtained by Nigerians from these “fake” universities. He argued that the invalidation of these certificates is necessary to protect Nigeria’s reputation.
Mamman explained that many individuals who obtained these fake certificates did not even travel to the countries where the universities are located. Instead, they acquired them through racketeering, often in collaboration with government officials both domestically and abroad.
He also highlighted that these “fake universities” took advantage of Nigerians who were unaware of their illegitimacy. He urged both public and private sectors to help identify and remove those with fake degrees from their employment.
