Operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have dismantled an alleged fake university operating from a residential apartment in Badagry, Lagos State, rescuing 106 young people believed to have been lured into a fraudulent admission and recruitment scheme.
The operation, carried out by the Badagry Area Command in the early hours of Monday, followed days of intelligence gathering and surveillance. The alleged proprietor of the institution was arrested, while the rescued youths were taken into protective custody as investigations continue.
The suspected institution reportedly operated from a three-bedroom apartment in the Ilado area of Olorunda Local Council Development Area (LCDA), masquerading as a distance-learning centre affiliated with a foreign university. Authorities said the operation had no official name, registration, signboard or recognised campus.
Preliminary findings indicate that the victims, mostly between the ages of 19 and 24, were recruited from different parts of Nigeria, including Kogi, Oyo and several northern states, as well as neighbouring countries such as Niger, Cameroon and Togo. They were allegedly persuaded through online advertisements to pay admission and processing fees ranging from ₦200,000 to ₦1.5 million, while some foreign nationals reportedly paid between $400 and $500.
Speaking on the operation, the Badagry Area Commander of the NSCDC, Chief Superintendent Gbenga Ekunola, said the command acted on credible intelligence regarding suspicious activities at the location.
According to him, investigations revealed that beyond collecting admission fees, the operators allegedly encouraged participants to recruit other students with promises of financial rewards for every successful referral, a model investigators believe bears the hallmarks of a Ponzi or multi-level marketing scheme.
Some of the rescued youths also allegedly participated in the online promotion of unspecified products in exchange for commissions tied to sales and recruitment. Investigators said one participant confessed to introducing his own brother into the programme after paying the required enrolment fee.
Ekunola expressed concern that many parents were unaware of the true activities of their children, noting that some had been told they were travelling to Badagry to acquire vocational skills rather than pursue university education.
He assured that efforts were underway to profile all the rescued youths, contact their families and reunite them with their parents or guardians where appropriate. He added that anyone found culpable in operating the alleged fraudulent institution would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
Security agencies are now widening investigations to determine the full scope of the network, identify possible collaborators and ascertain whether similar operations are active in other parts of the country. The discovery has also renewed concerns over the growing menace of fake online admission schemes targeting young people seeking educational opportunities abroad.
