The Federal Government has announced that only eight universities are accredited to award degrees to Nigerians in Togo and Benin Republic.
Minister of Education Tahir Mamman made this disclosure on Sunday night during Channels Television’s Sunday Politics program.
He revealed that over 22,500 Nigerians had obtained fake degree certificates from these two countries, and such certificates would be invalidated.
Mamman shared this information following a press conference last Friday, which marked his one year in office. The conference addressed a report submitted to the Federal Executive Council by a committee investigating degree certificate fraud by foreign and local universities in Nigeria.
The minister explained that the decision followed an undercover investigation, 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 placement.
During the program, Mamman clarified that the federal government officially recognizes only three institutions in Togo and five in Benin Republic for awarding degrees to Nigerian students, labeling the others as illegal.
The approved universities in Togo are:
- Université de Lomé
- Université de Kara
- Catholic University of West Africa
The accredited universities in Benin Republic are:
- Université d’Abomey-Calavi
- Université de Parakou
- Université Nationale des Sciences, Technologies, Ingénierie et Mathématiques
- Université Nationale d’Agriculture
- Université Africaine de Développement Coopératif
Mamman notes that the decision to cancel around 22,700 certificates from these “fake” universities is final. He stressed that invalidating these certificates is necessary to protect the country’s image, as many who hold them never actually studied abroad but obtained their degrees through fraudulent means, often in collaboration with officials.
The minister called for the identification of government employees with fake certificates and urged the private sector to take similar actions.