The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has uncovered a suspected fake university operating from a three-bedroom apartment in Ilado, Olorunda Local Council Development Area of Lagos State.
The operation led to the rescue of 106 young people allegedly recruited into the scheme and the arrest of the suspected proprietor of the institution.
The raid was conducted in the early hours of Monday by operatives of the NSCDC Badagry Area Command after several days of intelligence gathering and surveillance.
The institution, according to the corps, had no official name, registration, signboard or recognised campus. It allegedly operated online as a distance-learning centre linked to a foreign university.
Speaking on the operation, the Badagry Area Commander of the NSCDC, Chief Superintendent Gbenga Ekunola, said the agency acted on credible intelligence concerning activities at the apartment.
“We got reliable intelligence about the activities going on there. Our officers monitored the place for days before moving in. We have arrested the proprietor, who is assisting with our investigation, while the students have been taken into our protective custody,” Ekunola said.
Preliminary investigations showed that most of the rescued youths were aged between 19 and 24 and came from different parts of Nigeria, including Kogi and Oyo states, as well as some northern states.
The NSCDC also said some of the youths were nationals of neighbouring West African and Central African countries, including Niger, Cameroon and Togo, who were allegedly recruited through online platforms.
According to the findings, prospective students were allegedly asked to pay between ₦200,000 and ₦1.5 million as admission and processing fees. Some foreign applicants reportedly paid between $400 and $500 after being promised opportunities to study at a foreign tertiary institution.
The corps further alleged that the admission process was tied to a recruitment arrangement under which participants were encouraged to bring in new members in return for commissions.
Investigators reportedly discovered that the scheme operated in a manner similar to a Ponzi or chain-marketing arrangement, with participants allegedly promised financial benefits based on the number of people they recruited.
One of the rescued youths was said to have told investigators that he paid $400 to join the programme and subsequently persuaded his brother in Kogi State to enrol. He reportedly began receiving commissions from the referral arrangement.
The NSCDC also alleged that some participants were engaged in online promotion of unidentified products, earning percentages from product sales and the recruitment of new members.
Ekunola expressed concern that some parents were unaware of the actual activities their children were involved in.
“We have started contacting their families. One parent told us her child informed the family that he came to Badagry to learn a trade, not to attend a university. That shows many of these parents were completely unaware,” he said.
The rescued youths are expected to undergo profiling before being reunited with their families, while investigations continue into the activities of the suspected institution.
The NSCDC said the investigation had been expanded to identify other individuals allegedly connected to the operation and determine whether similar schemes were being run elsewhere.
The corps warned that anyone found to have participated in the establishment or operation of the suspected fake institution would face prosecution in line with the law.
The development has once again raised concerns about fraudulent admission schemes that target young Nigerians and foreign nationals seeking access to higher education opportunities in the country or abroad.
