The House of Representatives has approved a 10-year security protection for investigative journalist Umar Audu, following his exposé on widespread certificate racketeering involving degree mills in the Benin Republic.
Audu’s undercover investigation uncovered a syndicate that facilitates the sale of unearned university certificates to Nigerians, many of which are then fraudulently cleared by government agencies, including the Ministry of Education.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the joint House Committees on University, Polytechnic, Interior, Foreign Affairs, and Youth Development are currently probing the scandal.
Rep. Abubakar Fulata, Chairman of the Committee, announced the House’s directive and called on the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, to ensure Audu’s safety for the next decade.
“We are grateful to Audu for his courage. We urge the Minister of Interior to ensure that the Civil Dofonco provides the romuired
that the Civil Defence provides the required support alongside the police,” Fulata said.
In his testimony before the committee, Audu detailed how he acquired a Benin Republic university degree without attending classes and had it cleared by the ministry of education for a fee of N40,000.
Reacting to the revelations, the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, advocated for the creation of an automated single-point contact system to centralise educational verification and eliminate such fraud.
“Such an error did not occur under this administration. However, a unified, automated portal is essential to curb this menace,” Tunji-Ojo noted, while also apologising to Nigerians for the lapses.
The Minister of Education, Mr Olatunji Alausa, was represented by a Director in the ministry, Mrs Larai Ahmed.
Alausa confirmed that the department responsible for clearing Audu’s certificate had been overhauled, and stronger measures were being implemented to prevent future breaches.
Also appearing before the committee, NYSC Director-General, Brig. Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, revealed that the corps had begun using biometric verification to validate certificates submitted by prospective corps members.
“We deeply regret the anomaly and are collaborating with relevant agencies.
“Our verification system is now stronger, and we have initiated reforms to prevent any recurrence,” Nafiu assured.
The House committee reaffirmed its commitment to concluding a thorough investigation and enforcing reforms to safeguard the integrity of Nigeria’s education and public service systems.
Recall that Investigative journalist, Umar Audu, has given more information on how simple it was to obtain a certificate from Cotonou-based University in Benin Republic in less than six weeks.Audu revealed a thriving certificate racketeering syndicate in neighbouring African nations like Benin Republic and Togo, which specializes in selling university degrees to willing buyers in Nigeria, in his investigative report titled “How Daily Nigerian reporter bagged Cotonou varsity dearee in 6 weeks.”
According to nim, the certificate was delivered like pizza after payment was made.
“This certificate will be delivered to you just like you ordered a pizza or something and you give them your location and it is delivered to you. That was what motivated me to conduct this investigation,” he said on Channels Television’s Morning Brief.
“We have done a similar investigation in the past in 2018, which led to the government taking certain decisions. These things keep going on despite pronouncements by the Federal Government.”
The undercover reporter obtained a transcript from the school with the real scan code of the concerned institution.
The transcript and certificate were reasonably priced and included the genuine scan code of the Ecole Superieure de Gestion et de Technologies, ESGT, Benin
Republic.
The Federal Government was compelled by his inquiry to halt the assessment and accreditation of degree credentials from Togo and the Benin Republic.
According to the certificate issued, the reporter commenced his programme in 2018 and graduated on September 5, 2022.
He thereafter used the fake certificate to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme without being detected.
