The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, declared on Tuesday that security agencies would pursue individuals possessing fake university certificates across the country.
Mamman stated that once the Federal Government's committee investigating university certificate fraud concludes its inquiry, those individuals would be targeted for investigation.
This action follows the establishment of an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee by the Federal Government to examine the operations of certificate fraudsters, prompted by a damning report from Daily Nigerian exposing degree mills in Benin Republic.
Umar Audu, a reporter for Daily Nigerian, detailed how he obtained a degree within six weeks and subsequently participated in the National Youth Service Corps program in Nigeria.
The investigative report prompted the Nigerian government to ban the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from Benin Republic and Togo, spotlighting the illegal activities of some tertiary institutions in West Africa.
In addition to probing institutions in Benin Republic, the committee is also tasked with investigating Nigerian private universities established within the last 15 years.
At a quarterly citizens' engagement in Abuja, Mamman emphasized the imminent crackdown on fake certificate holders once the committee submits its findings.
