The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has uncovered a suspected fake university operating from a three-bedroom apartment in Ilado, Olorunda Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, rescuing 106 youths allegedly recruited into the scheme.
The NSCDC’s Badagry Area Command also arrested the alleged proprietor of the institution, who is accused of luring young people from across Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries with promises of admission into a foreign university.
The operation was carried out in the early hours of Monday after days of intelligence gathering and surveillance by NSCDC operatives.
According to the corps, the suspected institution operated without an official name, registration, signboard or recognised campus, while allegedly presenting itself online as a distance-learning centre affiliated with a foreign university.
Speaking on Monday, the Badagry Area Commander of the NSCDC, Chief Superintendent Gbenga Ekunola, said the raid followed credible intelligence on the activities at the apartment.
“We received reliable intelligence about the activities taking place there. Our officers monitored the location for several days before moving in. We arrested the proprietor, who is assisting with our investigation, while the students have been taken into protective custody,” he said.
Preliminary investigations showed that the rescued youths, most of them aged between 19 and 24, came from several Nigerian states, including Kogi, Oyo and states in northern Nigeria. Others reportedly travelled from neighbouring countries, including Niger, Cameroon and Togo, after being recruited online.
The NSCDC alleged 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 US dollars after being promised admission into a foreign tertiary institution.
Investigators further alleged that participants were required to recruit additional students in return for commissions, with the scheme operating in a manner similar to a Ponzi or multi-level marketing arrangement. Participants were allegedly promised increasing financial rewards based on the number of new recruits they introduced.
One of the rescued youths reportedly told investigators that after paying 400 US dollars to enrol, he persuaded his brother in Kogi State to join the programme and had already begun receiving referral commissions.
The NSCDC also alleged that some participants were involved in promoting unidentified products online, earning commissions from both 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 106 rescued youths would be profiled before being reunited with their families after the investigation.
Ekunola 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 identify other members of the network and determine whether similar schemes were operating in other parts of the country.
The discovery has renewed concerns over the growing prevalence of fraudulent online admission schemes targeting young Nigerians and foreign nationals seeking opportunities to study abroad.
