The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has uncovered an alleged fake university operating from a three-bedroom apartment in the Ilado area of Olorunda Local Council Development Area, Badagry, Lagos State, rescuing 106 young people and arresting the suspected proprietor.
The operation, carried out in the early hours of Monday by the NSCDC Badagry Area Command, followed days of intelligence gathering and covert surveillance. The command said the apartment was allegedly being used as the base of a fraudulent academic and recruitment scheme that promised unsuspecting youths admission into a foreign university.
The 106 rescued victims, mostly between the ages of 19 and 24, were reportedly recruited from different parts of Nigeria, including Kogi, Oyo and several northern states, as well as neighbouring countries such as Niger, Cameroon and Togo.
Investigations revealed that the so-called university had no official name, signboard, registration or recognised campus. Instead, it allegedly operated entirely from the rented apartment while presenting itself online as a distance-learning institution affiliated with a foreign university.
Confirming the operation, the Badagry Area Commander of the NSCDC, Chief Superintendent Gbenga Ekunola, said the command acted on credible intelligence about suspicious activities at the location.
“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.
According to preliminary findings, the victims were allegedly persuaded to pay admission and processing fees ranging from ₦200,000 to ₦1.5 million, while some foreign nationals reportedly paid between 400 and 500 US dollars.
Investigators further discovered that participants were encouraged to recruit additional students into the programme in exchange for commissions, creating what authorities described as a Ponzi-like or chain-marketing structure. One victim reportedly admitted that after paying 400 US dollars to join, he convinced his brother in Kogi State to enrol and had already begun earning referral commissions.
The NSCDC also uncovered evidence suggesting that some participants were involved in promoting unidentified products online while receiving commissions based on sales and recruitment.
Ekunola expressed concern that many parents were unaware of their children’s actual activities 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 added that the command is profiling all the rescued youths and working to reunite them with their families after investigations, while assuring that anyone found culpable in operating the alleged fake institution would be prosecuted.
The NSCDC said investigations are ongoing to determine the full scope of the alleged fraud, identify other collaborators and establish whether similar operations are being run in other parts of the country.