The Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, has revealed that all degree certificates issued by Cotonou University between 2017 and the present will be rendered invalid.
The sweeping measures also include the immediate termination of personnel currently employed by the Federal Government who possess counterfeit degree certificates from the Republics of Benin and Togo.
This initiative was sanctioned during a recent meeting of the federal executive council, presided over by President Bola Tinubu, marking a significant milestone in the government’s fight against academic fraud. Mamman stated, “One of the things we did in the course of the year was — remember when information broke out about some of our students going to neighbouring countries — some not even going at all — to obtain certificates.”
He elaborated on the steps taken, mentioning that the ministry had established a committee to investigate the issue. “The committee came up with a detailed review; that review was sent to the federal executive council about a month ago, which approved some of the recommendations from the ministry,” he noted.
The minister emphasized the importance of protecting the integrity of Nigerian education, asserting, “We can’t have in our midst people who procure fake certificates and to compete with our students who graduated from our universities and polytechnics through their sweat, some spent four, five, six, or more years going out to compete with people who procure certificates right here without going anywhere, for a lot of them.”
According to the findings presented, there are approximately 21,684 students holding fake certificates from institutions in the Benin Republic and about 1,105 from Togo, with degrees obtained between 2019 and 2023. Mamman explained, “They simply attend schools, which are not recognised in those countries,” highlighting the issue of non-recognition of these institutions in their home countries.
He further clarified, “In the case of Togo, we have three universities that are officially approved and licensed to offer degrees, and in Benin, there are about five of them. So anyone who didn’t attend these universities is parading a fake certificate.”
Mamman warned that from 2017 onwards, attending any university solely run in English in these countries is futile as such institutions are not approved. “But a lot of our countrymen went there—some didn’t go anyway… The number may be more… Some who attempted to but couldn’t succeed in the screening process disappeared into thin air.”
The federal government’s decisive action includes instructing all employers, both public and private, to identify anyone with certificates from these institutions.
“The Head of Service has also been mandated to fish out from the public service anybody who is parading certificate from these institutions,” Mamman concluded, reinforcing the government’s commitment to upholding educational standards in Nigeria.
