The Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, has revealed that over 22,500 Nigerians possess fake certificates obtained from institutions in the Benin Republic and Togo between 2019 and 2023.
According to Mamman, 21,600 of these individuals obtained their certificates from unaccredited universities in the Benin Republic, while approximately 1,105 others obtained theirs from unaccredited institutions in Togo.
In response to this issue, the Federal Government has authorized the termination of employees in both the public and private sectors who hold counterfeit degree certificates.
The prevalence of degree mills in Nigeria has recently come under scrutiny following an in-depth report by an investigative reporter, Umar Audu
The report by Audu exposed the ease with which fake degrees can be obtained from institutions in the Benin Republic and Togo.
Audu’s investigation revealed that he was able to obtain a degree in just six weeks and even participated in the National Youth Service Corps scheme.
Audu, who reached out to the syndicate that specializes in selling degree certificates in December 2022, graduated in February 2023 and was issued a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication certificate from the Ecole Superieure de Gestion et de Technologies, Cotonou, Benin Republic
During his first-year ministerial scorecard presentation on Friday, Mamman addressed the issue, stating;
“One of our key accomplishments this year was addressing the issue of students obtaining certificates from neighboring countries, some without even attending classes. This is a serious concern that we are working to address.”
“The ministry set up a committee to look into that; the committee came up with a detailed review; that review was sent to the federal executive council about a month ago, which approved some of the recommendations from the ministry.
“Now the recommendations will be implemented along with other ministries and agencies affected, including NYSC, Immigration.
“Because we have to take some major decisions here, some staff who are affected faced disciplinary measures, and that the whole unit went through some kind of review.
“But by and large, we can’t have in our midst people who procure fake certificates and to compete with our students who graduated from our universities and polytechnics through their sweat, some spent four, five, six, or more years going out to compete with people who procure certificates right here without going anywhere, for a lot of them.
“So what the FEC now approves is that, through the data, that NYSC has, about 21,684 students that are parading fake certificates from Benin Republic, obtained between 2019 to 2023.
“Togo is about 1,105. How did that happen? They simply attend schools, which are not recognised in those countries.
“Remember, this point is extremely important. The non-recognition itself is in those countries. They are not institutions recognized to offer degree programs in those countries.
