The House of Representatives has cleared universities in the Republic of Togo of any wrongdoing in the alleged certificate fraud scandal but announced a fresh probe into institutions in the Benin Republic, scheduled for July 10, 2025.
Chairman of the House Committee on Public Petitions, Hon. Bitrus Kwamoti Laori, made this known while reviewing Petition No. 445 of 2024, filed by Sovereign Legal Practitioners on behalf of Stakeholders in Education.
He disclosed that Togo was exonerated based on findings received through diplomatic channels in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Of course, Togo Republic was cleared by the Ministry (Foreign Affairs). The only issue we have now is Benin Republic,” Laori stated.
The committee, however, expressed concern over the Federal Ministry of Education’s failure to appear at the hearing. Citing a letter from the petitioners’ counsel, who was indisposed, Laori announced that the hearing has been rescheduled for July 10.
“We will still serve the Federal Ministry of Education to come and give us clarifications on the pre-qualification examinations in Benin Republic. That’s the issue that’s holding a lot of students and other graduands,” he added.
The controversy follows a December 2024 federal government directive dismissing civil servants with degrees obtained from private institutions in both Togo and Benin Republic between 2017 and 2024.
An ongoing House investigation is also probing an undercover report that exposed a certificate racketeering syndicate in the Benin Republic.
