The Federal Government has terminated the employment of civil servants who obtained degrees from private universities in Benin Republic and Togo between 2017 and now. The move, confirmed by Segun Imohiosen, Director of Information and Public Relations in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), stems from concerns over the credibility of these degrees.

This decision follows an August 2024 directive restricting Nigerian recognition to only eight accredited universities in Togo and Benin Republic. The action was prompted by an undercover investigation by Daily Nigerian, which revealed how a journalist acquired a degree in just two months from a Benin Republic institution and used it to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.

In response to the scandal, the government banned the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from tertiary institutions in both countries and established an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling.

Former Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, revealed that over 22,500 Nigerians had obtained fraudulent degrees from these universities. He highlighted the troubling collaboration between foreign institutions, local universities, and government officials in facilitating certificate racketeering.

“Most of those parading fake certificates didn’t even leave Nigeria but obtained them through racketeering,” Mamman said. He urged both public and private sectors to identify and remove individuals with such certificates to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s education system.

The SGF’s office has reportedly issued memos to all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), instructing them to implement the dismissal order. A source disclosed that the directive was based on the recommendations of the investigative committee.

“There was a letter from the SGF cabinet affairs directing all MDAs to identify and terminate the appointments of workers with certificates from private universities in the Republic of Benin and Togo,” the source said.

The NYSC has already begun implementing the directive, with its Director of Information, Caroline Embu, confirming that five staff members were dismissed in compliance with the order. “Five members of staff were affected by the directive contained in the letter from the SGF. No more,” she stated.