The House of Representatives has directed that investigative journalist Umar Audu be placed under security protection for the next ten years, following his exposé on the ease of acquiring fraudulent university degrees in West Africa.
Chairman of the House Committee, Rep. Abubakar Fulata, issued the directive, calling on the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and other relevant agencies to ensure Audu’s safety.
“We appreciate Audu’s bravery. We urge the Minister of Interior to ensure the Civil Defence Corps supports the police in providing him with full protection,” Fulata said.
Appearing before the committee, Audu detailed how he obtained a university degree from Ecole Supérieure de Gestion et de Technologies (ESGT), a Cotonou-based institution in Benin Republic, within six weeks—without attending a single class. The degree, which cost N40,000, was successfully verified by Nigeria’s Ministry of Education, exposing deep flaws in the country’s academic credential system.
Responding to the findings, Minister of Interior Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo recommended the creation of an automated, centralized portal for verifying academic qualifications to curb future fraud.
“While this did not happen under our watch, we acknowledge the problem and propose a unified digital verification system to prevent recurrence,” he said, offering an apology to Nigerians.
Representing the Minister of Education, Mr. Olatunji Alausa, a director in the ministry, Mrs. Larai Ahmed, disclosed that the department responsible for verifying Audu’s certificate had been overhauled, with new safeguards put in place.
NYSC Director-General Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu also appeared before the committee, revealing that the corps had adopted biometric verification to confirm academic credentials.
“We regret what happened and are actively working with relevant agencies. Our verification process has been significantly strengthened,” Nafiu assured lawmakers.
The committee reaffirmed its commitment to a thorough investigation and pledged to implement sweeping reforms to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s education and public service systems.
Audu’s undercover report, titled “How Daily Nigerian reporter bagged Cotonou varsity degree in 6 weeks,” exposed a certificate racketeering network operating in countries like Benin Republic and Togo, which sells degrees to Nigerian buyers. He described how degrees are delivered “like pizza” after payment, complete with genuine transcripts and QR-coded certificates from ESGT.
The report triggered national outrage and prompted the Federal Government to suspend the evaluation and accreditation of degrees from Benin Republic and Togo.
According to the certificate Audu obtained, he allegedly started his programme in 2018 and graduated in September 2022. He then used the fake degree to enroll in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) without detection, further exposing systemic failures in Nigeria’s education and recruitment systems.
