NSCDC busts fake university, rescues 106 students in Lagos

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has uncovered a suspected fake university operating from a three-bedroom apartment in Badagry, Lagos State, rescuing 106 youths allegedly recruited into the scheme and arresting its suspected proprietor.

The operation was carried out by the NSCDC Badagry Area Command in the early hours of Monday after days of intelligence gathering and surveillance.

According to the corps, the institution, which allegedly operated without a registered name, signboard or recognised campus, presented itself online as a distance-learning centre affiliated with a foreign university.

The Badagry Area Commander, Chief Superintendent Gbenga Ekunola, said the raid followed credible intelligence on the activities of the suspected operators.

“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.

The rescued students, mostly between the ages of 19 and 24, were said to have come from several Nigerian states, including Kogi, Oyo and parts of northern Nigeria. Others reportedly travelled from neighbouring countries such as Niger, Cameroon and Togo after being recruited online.

Preliminary investigations showed that victims allegedly paid between ₦200,000 and ₦1.5 million as admission and processing fees, while some foreign nationals reportedly paid between $400 and $500 after being promised admission into a foreign tertiary institution.

The NSCDC also alleged that the organisers required participants to recruit new students in exchange for commissions, operating what investigators described as a Ponzi-style or chain-marketing scheme.

Investigators further discovered that some participants were allegedly involved in promoting unidentified products online while earning commissions from product sales and recruitment.

One of the rescued students reportedly told investigators that after paying $400 to join the programme, he persuaded his brother in Kogi State to enrol and had already begun receiving referral commissions.

Ekunola expressed concern that many parents were unaware of the true nature of the programme.

“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 investigations are concluded.

The area commander added that anyone found culpable in operating the alleged fake institution would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.

He said the investigation had been expanded to identify other members of the network and determine whether similar schemes were operating in other parts of the country.