FG suspends evaluation of Benin Republic, Togo degrees — after certificate racketeering saga

The federal government has suspended the evaluation and accreditation of degree certificates from Benin Republic and Togo.

Augustina Obilor-Duru, the acting director of press at the federal ministry of education, confirmed this in a statement on Tuesday.

The director said the decision follows a recently published report exposing certificate racketeering from neighbouring African countries.

A report published in The Daily Nigerian exposed a booming certificate racketeering syndicate in neighbouring  African countries like Benin Republic and Togo, that specialises in selling university degrees to willing buyers in Nigeria.

In the investigation, an undercover reporter bagged a university degree from Cotonou in six weeks at “an affordable rate”.

The certificate and transcript bore the authentic scan code of Ecole Superieure de Gestion et de Technologies, ESGT, Benin Republic.

The certificate stipulated that the reporter commenced his programme in 2018 and graduated on September 5, 2022.

ESGT is fully accredited by the governments of Benin Republic and Nigeria.

The reporter proceeded to use the fake certificate to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme without detection.

The investigation also showed that racketeering agents in Nigeria are in cahoots with top management of the university campus in Cotonou whose registrar and English section coordinators are Nigerians.

Obilor-Duru said the education ministry is suspending accreditation and evaluation of university degree certificates from the affected nations pending conclusion of an ongoing probe on the matter.

He said the probe would involve the foreign affairs ministry of Nigeria as well as those of the two countries, the education ministries in the two countries, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the NYSC.

“The ministry has also commenced internal administrative processes to determine the culpability or otherwise of her staff for which applicable public service rules would be applied,” the director said.

“The issue of degree mill institutions is a global problem that all countries grapple with.

“FME has been contending with the problem including illegal institutions located abroad or at home preying on unsuspecting, innocent Nigerians and some desperate Nigerians who deliberately patronize such outlets.

“Periodically, warnings have been issued by the Ministry and NUC against the resort to such institutions and in some instances, reports made to security agencies to clamp down on the perpetrators.

“The ministry will continue to review its strategy to plug any loopholes, processes and procedures and deal decisively with any conniving officials.”