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, rescuing 106 youths allegedly recruited into the scheme.
The command also arrested the alleged 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 operation was carried out in the early hours of Monday following days of intelligence gathering and covert surveillance by NSCDC 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.
Students of the fake Lagos university during the raid by NSCDC…Photo Credit: NSCDC
On Monday, the Badagry Area Commander of the NSCDC, Chief Superintendent Gbenga Ekunola, 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.
