The Federal Government has dismissed civil servants who graduated from unaccredited private universities in Benin Republic and Togo between 2017 and the present, citing the use of fake certificates.
This decision followed an undercover investigation that revealed about 22,500 certificates obtained from these countries were fraudulent.
The Director of Information and Public Relations in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, disclosed this on Wednesday.
It should be recalled that a Nigerian journalist, through an undercover investigation, demonstrated how they obtained a university degree in just two months from a university in Benin Republic and subsequently used it to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.
In response to the report, the Federal Government established an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling to probe the activities of certificate racketeers.
The investigation revealed that only eight universities in Togo and Benin Republic are accredited to award degrees to Nigerians.
Meanwhile, numerous government workers were found to have used certificates from unaccredited institutions, often supported by falsified academic results.
According to the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, the decision to invalidate these certificates was necessary, as Nigerians who obtained degrees from such institutions tarnish the country’s reputation.
He stated, “Most of those parading the fake certificates didn’t even leave the shores of Nigeria but got their certificates through racketeering in collaboration with government officials at home and abroad.
The fake universities capitalized on the gullibility of Nigerians patronizing such institutions. The Federal Government, through the offices of the Head of Civil Service and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, will identify and remove those in government employment with fake certificates. I also urge the private sector to follow suit,” he added.
To further enforce the ban on fake certificates from these two Francophone countries, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has started implementing the directive issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
The NYSC Director of Information, Caroline Embu, confirmed that five staff members had been dismissed in connection with fake certifications.
“Five members of staff were affected by the directive contained in the letter from the Office of the SGF. No more,” Embu said.
