Operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC, Badary Area Command, have uncovered a suspected fake university operating from a three-bedroom apartment in Ilado,within the Olorunda Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, rescuing 106 young people allegedly caught in the scheme.
The operation followed days of intelligence gathering and surveillance by the NSCDC Badary Area Command before officers raided the apartment in Monday.
The operation also led to the arrest of the alleged proprietor, who is accused of enticing prospective students from different parts of Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries with promises of admission into foreign university.
The raid was conducted in the early hours of Monday after several days of intelligence gathering and covert surveillance by NSCDC personnel.
According to the NSCDC Area Commander, Chief Superintendent Gbenga Ekunola, the institution had no official name, registration, signboard or organized campus, despite presenting itself online as a distance-learning centre affiliated with a foreign university.
“We received reliable intelligence regarding the location. Our operatives kept the premises under surveillance for several days before carrying out the operation. The proprietor has been arrested and is assisting with our investigation, while the students have been placed under protective custody”, Ekunola said.
Preliminary investigations revealed that most of the the rescued victims, aged between 19 and 24, came from states including Kogi, Oyo and several northern states, while others travelled from Niger, Cameroon and Togo.
Investigators said victims allegedly paid between N200,000 and N1.5 million as admission and processing fees, while some foreign nationals reportedly paid $400 to $500.
The NSCDC also alleged that participants were encouraged to recruit more students in exchange for commissions, describing the operation as having characteristics.of a Ponzi or chain-marketing scheme.
One rescued participant reportedly admitted convincing his brother in Kogi State to join after enrolling and had already been earning referral commissions.
Ekunola revealed that many parents were unaware of their children’s actual activities, with one parent believing her child had travelled to Badary to learn a trade.
The 106 rescued youths are currently being profiled before reunification with their families, while investigations continue to identify other suspects and determine whether similar operations exist elsewhere in Nigeria.
-9News Nigeria.
