The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Badagry Area Command, has uncovered an alleged fake university operating from a three-bedroom apartment in Ilado, Olorunda Local Council Development Area, of Lagos State, and rescued 106 youths allegedly lured into the scheme.

The Corps also arrested the alleged proprietor of the institution, which reportedly recruited young people from different parts of Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries with promises of admission into a foreign university.

The operation, carried out in the early hours of Monday after days of intelligence gathering and covert surveillance, exposed what security officials described as an alleged fraudulent academic and recruitment scheme.

The youths, mostly aged between 19 and 24, were taken into protective custody by the NSCDC for profiling and further investigation.

Speaking on the development, the Badagry Area Commander of the NSCDC, Chief Superintendent Gbenga Ekunola, said the operation followed credible intelligence received by the command on activities at the apartment.

He said: “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.”

Investigations, however, revealed that the alleged institution had no official name, signboard, registration or known campus. It was allegedly being operated from the rented apartment while presenting itself online as a distance learning centre affiliated with a foreign university.

The youths reportedly came from different parts of Nigeria, including Kogi, Oyo and several northern states, while others travelled from Niger, Cameroon and Togo after allegedly being recruited online.

Preliminary investigations indicated that unsuspecting young people were allegedly persuaded to pay admission and processing fees after being promised admission into a foreign tertiary institution.

The victims reportedly paid between N200,000 and N1.5 million, while some foreign nationals and other participants allegedly paid between $400 and $500.

However, the alleged admission scheme reportedly came with a recruitment condition, with participants encouraged to bring in more people in return for commissions.

The arrangement allegedly operated like a chain marketing or Ponzi scheme, with participants promised increasing financial rewards based on the number of new students they recruited.

One of the victims reportedly told investigators that after paying $400, he persuaded his brother in Kogi State to enrol and had already begun receiving commissions from referrals.

The NSCDC also uncovered another aspect of the alleged operation, with some of the youths reportedly involved in promoting unidentified products online while receiving percentages from sales and recruitment.

Ekunola expressed concern that several parents were unaware of the real purpose of their children’s presence in Badagry.

He said: “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.”

According to him, the command would profile all the youths and work towards reuniting them with their parents and guardians after the necessary investigations.

He also assured that anyone found culpable in the operation of the alleged fake institution would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.

The development has raised fresh concerns over the growing activities of fraudulent online admission schemes targeting young people seeking educational opportunities, particularly foreign academic programmes.

The NSCDC is expected to expand its investigation to determine the full extent of the alleged network, identify other collaborators and establish whether similar operations are being run in other parts of the country.

For the 106 youths rescued in Ilado, what they allegedly believed would be the beginning of an international academic journey has instead placed them at the centre of a major criminal investigation. (Vanguard)

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