Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), 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 lured into the scheme.
The command also arrested the alleged proprietor, accused of deceiving young people from across Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries with promises of admission into a foreign university.
The operation, carried out in the early hours of Monday, followed several days of intelligence gathering and covert surveillance by NSCDC operatives.
According to the corps, the institution had no official name, registration, signboard or recognised campus but allegedly operated online as a distance-learning centre affiliated with a foreign university.
Addressing journalists, the Badagry Area Commander, Chief Superintendent Gbenga Ekunola, said the raid was based on credible intelligence.
“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,” he said.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the rescued youths, mostly aged between 19 and 24, were recruited from different parts of Nigeria, including Kogi, Oyo and several northern states. Others reportedly travelled from neighbouring countries such as Niger, Cameroon and Togo after being recruited online.
Investigators said the victims paid admission and processing fees ranging from ₦200,000 to ₦1.5 million, while some foreign nationals allegedly paid between $400 and $500 after being promised admission into a foreign tertiary institution.
The NSCDC also discovered that participants were allegedly required to recruit additional students in exchange for commissions, with investigators describing the operation as resembling a Ponzi or chain-marketing scheme.
One victim reportedly told investigators that after paying $400, he convinced his brother in Kogi State to enrol and had already begun receiving referral commissions.
The corps further uncovered another aspect of the operation, alleging that some participants promoted unidentified products online and earned commissions from both product sales and recruitment.
Ekunola expressed concern that many parents were unaware of the true activities of their children 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 disclosed that 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.
The NSCDC said investigations had been expanded to identify other collaborators, dismantle the network behind the operation and determine whether similar fraudulent admission schemes are operating elsewhere in the country.
The discovery has renewed concerns over the growing trend of fake online admission schemes targeting young Nigerians and foreign nationals seeking opportunities to study abroad.
