Over 22,700 Nigerians have obtained fake degree certificates from universities in Benin Republic and Togo.
This is according to the Education Minister Tahir Amman.
Mamman revealed this information during a press conference in Abuja on Friday, marking his one-year anniversary in office.
This discovery was made possible by a committee established in January 2024 to investigate private universities founded in the last 15 years and degree certificate racketeering by foreign and local universities in Nigeria.
The committee, led by former University of Maiduguri Vice Chancellor Jibrin Amin, submitted its report to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in July, recommending reforms.
The report exposed that approximately 22,789 Nigerians possess 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 can not have in our midst people who procured fake certificate competing with students who 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.
