The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Badagry Area Command, has uncovered a suspected fake university operating from a three-bedroom apartment in Ilado, Olorunda Local Council Development Area of Lagos State.
The suspected fake institution of higher learning had 106 youths allegedly recruited into the scheme.
The command also arrested the proprietor of the institution, who was accused of luring young people from across Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries with promises of admission into a foreign university.
The corps said the operation was carried out in the early hours of Monday following days of intelligence gathering and covert surveillance by its operatives.
According to the corps, the suspected institution was operating without an official name, registration, signboard or recognised campus, while allegedly presenting itself online as a distance-learning centre affiliated with a foreign university.
Badagry Area Commander of the NSCDC, Chief Superintendent Gbenga Ekunola, who revealed the development, said the raid followed credible intelligence about 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.
Investigations revealed that the rescued youths, mostly between the ages of 19 and 24, came from several Nigerian states, including Kogi, Oyo and some northern states. Others reportedly travelled from neighbouring countries such as Niger, Cameroon and Togo after being recruited online.
Preliminary findings indicated that the victims were persuaded to pay admission and processing fees ranging from ₦200,000 to ₦1.5 million, while some foreign nationals reportedly paid between $400 and $500 after being promised admission into a foreign tertiary institution.
The NSCDC said it further discovered that the admission offer allegedly came with a recruitment condition requiring participants to bring in more students in exchange for commissions.
Investigators said the arrangement allegedly operated like a Ponzi or chain-marketing scheme, with participants promised increasing financial rewards based on the number of new recruits they brought into the programme.
One of the victims reportedly told investigators that after paying $400, he convinced his brother in Kogi State to enrol and had already started receiving referral commissions.
The command also uncovered another dimension of the operation, alleging that some participants were involved in promoting unidentified products online while earning percentages from product sales and recruitment.
Expressing concern over the incident, Ekunola said many parents were unaware of what their children were actually doing in Badagry.
“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.
He said all the rescued youths would be profiled before being reunited with their families after investigations.
The area commander added that anyone found culpable in operating the alleged fake institution would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
The NSCDC said investigations had been expanded to uncover the full network behind the operation, identify other collaborators and determine whether similar schemes are operating in other parts of the country.
The discovery has renewed concerns over the growing number of fraudulent online admission schemes targeting young Nigerians and foreign nationals seeking opportunities to study abroad.
(Ripples)
