The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Badagry Area Command, has uncovered a suspected fake university operating from a three-bedroom apartment in Ilado, Olorunda Local Council Development Area of Lagos State.
During the operation, officials rescued 106 young people and arrested the alleged owner of the institution, who is accused of deceiving youths from different parts of Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries with promises of admission into a foreign university.
The raid was carried out in the early hours of Monday after several days of intelligence gathering and surveillance by NSCDC operatives.
Investigators said the so-called institution had no official name, registration, signboard or recognised campus, yet allegedly presented itself online as a distance-learning centre linked to a foreign university.
Speaking on Monday, the Badagry Area Commander of the NSCDC, Chief Superintendent Gbenga Ekunola, said the operation followed credible intelligence.
“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,” Ekunola said.
According to preliminary findings, most of the rescued victims, aged between 19 and 24, came from states including Kogi, Oyo and several northern states, while others travelled from neighbouring countries such as Niger, Cameroon and Togo after being recruited online.
The investigation revealed that victims allegedly paid between ₦200,000 and ₦1.5 million as admission and processing fees. Some foreign applicants were also said to have paid between $400 and $500 after being promised admission into an overseas university.
The NSCDC also discovered that students were allegedly encouraged to recruit more people into the programme in exchange for referral commissions.
Officials said the operation appeared to function like a Ponzi or chain-marketing scheme, with participants promised higher earnings as they brought in more recruits.
One of the victims reportedly told investigators he paid $400 to enrol and later persuaded his brother in Kogi State to join, earning referral bonuses in return.
Further investigations showed that some participants were also allegedly involved in marketing unidentified products online while receiving commissions based on sales and recruitment.
Ekunola expressed concern that many parents had no idea what their children were actually doing 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.
