THE House of Representatives on Monday, May 19, ordered 10-year protection for investigative journalist Umar Audu, whose undercover report exposed the sale of fake degrees from universities in the Benin Republic to Nigerians.
The directive was issued by the House Joint Committees on University, Polytechnic, Interior, Foreign Affairs, and Youth Development, which is currently probing the scandal, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
Recall that Audu’s investigation uncovered a network of degree mills through which Nigerians obtain fraudulent academic certificates, some of which are subsequently validated by Nigerian government agencies, including the Federal Ministry of Education.
The reporter revealed how beneficiaries of these substandard certificates compete for jobs and other opportunities with hard-working graduates who undergo academic rigours for at least four years to obtain their degrees.
It also reported that the requirements for the fake degree are O-level certificates – fake or genuine – and money, which vary depending on the course, urgency and class of degree.
Having met with an agent, the reporter obtained the certificate and transcript of Ecole Supérieure de Gestion et de Technologies, ESGT, Cotonou, Benin Republic, on February 17, 2023.
This was after the reporter paid the required amount, including tuition fees for the duration.
Speaking on the latest development, the committee chairman, Abubakar Fulata, announced the development and called on the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to ensure Audu’s safety.
“We are grateful to Audu for his courage. We urge the Minister of Interior to ensure that the Civil Defence provides the required support alongside the police,” Fulata said.
During his appearance before the committee, Audu also narrated how he secured a degree from a Benin Republic university without attending classes and later had the certificate officially cleared by the Ministry of Education after paying a N40,000 fee.
Also, in response, the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, proposed the creation of a centralised automated verification system to prevent such fraudulent activities in the future.
“Such an error did not occur under this administration. However, a unified, automated portal is essential to curb this menace,” Tunji-Ojo said.
Representing the Minister of Education, Mr. Olatunji Alausa, a director in the ministry, Larai Ahmed, said the department responsible for the certificate clearance had been overhauled and that more stringent measures were in place.
The ICIR reported that following the investigation, the Federal Government shut down 18 foreign universities in Nigeria. The government labelled the affected institutions as “degree mills,’’ noting that it had not licensed them to operate in the country.
The National Universities Commission (NUC), in a statement published on its website on Tuesday, January 2, 2024, stated that the affected universities had been closed down.
The development also came a few hours after the Ministry of Education suspended the evaluation and accreditation for university degrees in the Republic of Benin and Togo.
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