…Suspect Arrested As Victims Lose Up To N1.5m, $500 Each
…Victims From Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger Recruited Through Online Scheme
…Parents Kept In Dark As Students Lured With Overseas Education Promises
Daud Olatunji
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has uncovered a suspected fake university operating from a three-bedroom apartment in the Ilado area of Olorunda Local Council Development Area, Badagry, Lagos State, rescuing 106 youths allegedly defrauded through a bogus foreign admission scheme.
The suspected mastermind behind the operation was arrested during a coordinated raid carried out in the early hours of Monday by operatives of the NSCDC Badagry Area Command after days of intelligence gathering and covert surveillance.
The victims, most of whom are between 19 and 24 years old, were allegedly lured from different parts of Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries with promises of securing admission into a foreign university.
The corps said the rescued youths have been taken into protective custody for profiling and further investigation, while efforts are underway to reunite them with their families.
Speaking on the operation, the Badagry Area Commander of the NSCDC, Chief Superintendent Gbenga Ekunola, said the raid followed credible intelligence indicating suspicious activities at the apartment.
According to him, intelligence operatives closely monitored the location for several days before moving in.
“Our operation was based on credible intelligence. We monitored the place for days before carrying out the raid,” Ekunola said.
“The proprietor has been arrested and is assisting us with ongoing investigations, while the students have been taken into protective custody.”
Investigations revealed that the so-called institution had no official name, registration, accreditation, campus or signboard. Instead, it allegedly operated from a rented apartment while presenting itself online as a distance learning centre affiliated with a foreign university.
According to the NSCDC, the alleged syndicate recruited unsuspecting youths through online advertisements, convincing them they had secured opportunities to study abroad.
The victims reportedly came from Kogi, Oyo and several northern states, while others travelled from Cameroon, Niger Republic and Togo after responding to the online recruitment campaign.
Preliminary findings showed that the victims paid between N200,000 and N1.5 million as admission and processing fees, while some foreign nationals paid between $400 and $500.
Investigators also uncovered what appeared to be a multi-level recruitment structure, where participants were allegedly encouraged to recruit additional students in exchange for commissions.
The arrangement, according to investigators, operated in a manner similar to a Ponzi or chain-marketing scheme, with financial rewards increasing as participants brought in more recruits.
One of the victims reportedly confessed to investigators that after paying $400, he persuaded his brother in Kogi State to enrol and had already started earning commissions through referrals.
The NSCDC further discovered another layer of the operation, alleging that some of the youths were engaged in promoting unidentified products online while earning percentages from product sales and recruitment.
Ekunola expressed concern over the level of deception employed by the operators, saying many parents had no idea why their children travelled to Badagry.
“We have started contacting the parents and guardians of the rescued youths,” he said.
“In one case, a parent said her child told her he travelled to Badagry to learn a trade, not to attend any university. This clearly shows that several parents were completely unaware of what was actually going on.”
He assured that every rescued youth would be properly profiled before being reunited with their families.
“We will profile all those involved and reunite them with their parents and guardians after the necessary investigations,” Ekunola stated.
“Anyone found culpable in operating this illegal institution or participating in the fraudulent scheme will be prosecuted in accordance with the law.”
Security officials believe the operation may be part of a wider cross-border fraud network targeting young people seeking foreign educational opportunities.
The NSCDC said investigations had been expanded to determine the full scope of the alleged syndicate, identify other collaborators and establish whether similar fake institutions are operating in other parts of the country.
The discovery has also renewed concerns over the growing activities of online admission fraudsters exploiting the desperation of young Nigerians and foreign nationals seeking higher education abroad.
For the 106 rescued youths, what was presented as the beginning of an international academic journey has instead exposed an elaborate admission scam that has left many counting huge financial losses and uncertain about their future, while investigators work to unravel what authorities suspect could be a much larger criminal network operating beyond Lagos.
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