The federal government has revealed that over 22,700 Nigerians have obtained fake degree certificates from universities in Benin Republic and Togo.
Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education, made this disclosure during a press conference in Abuja on Friday, marking his first year in office.
In January 2024, the federal government set up a committee to investigate private universities established over the last 15 years, as well as degree certificate racketeering by both foreign and local institutions.
The committee, led by Jibrin Amin, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, submitted its report to the federal executive council (FEC) in July, recommending significant reforms.
Mamman stated that between 2019 and 2023, approximately 22,789 Nigerians obtained fake degree certificates from institutions in Benin Republic and Togo.
Specifically, 21,684 of these fake certificates were from Benin Republic, while 1,105 were from Togo.
“We have taken major steps within the ministry of education,” Mamman said.
“Some staff members implicated in this were disciplined, and the entire unit underwent a review. We cannot allow individuals with fake certificates to compete with students who earned their degrees through genuine hard work.”
Mamman further explained that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) data had been instrumental in uncovering these cases.
This revelation follows an investigative report from late 2023, which exposed a certificate racketeering syndicate operating in Benin Republic and Togo.
The investigation revealed how agents in Nigeria collaborated with illegal university campuses in Cotonou to sell backdated degree certificates.
In the course of the investigation, a reporter was able to obtain a fake university degree within six weeks and successfully used it to participate in the NYSC scheme without detection.