Over 45 universities across Benin Republic and Togo will be affected as Nigeria halts evaluation and accreditation for degree certificates from both Francophone African countries.
A recently published report exposed a certificate racketeering syndicate in neighbouring African countries that specialises in selling university degrees to willing buyers in Nigeria.
In the investigation, an undercover reporter bagged a university degree from Cotonou in six weeks.
The certificate and transcript bore the authentic scan code of ESGT, which is accredited by Benin Republic and Nigeria.
The certificate stipulated that the reporter commenced his programme in 2018 and graduated on September 5, 2022.
The reporter proceeded to use the fake certificate to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme without detection.
The investigation also showed that racketeering agents in Nigeria are in cahoots with top management of the university campus in Cotonou, whose registrar and English section coordinators are Nigerians.
The federal government, in its reaction, suspended the evaluation and accreditation of Togolese and Beninese degree certificates.
Typically, foreign degree certificates have to be vetted by regulators in Nigeria before the graduates involved can proceed with the compulsory NYSC scheme, an important prerequisite for corporate employment.
The ministry said certificate rackets/degree mills are among the problems it has been fighting over the years.
The suspension, it said, is pending an ongoing investigation involving the education ministries in both countries and the NYSC.
