Rescues 106 youths

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Badagry Area Command, has uncovered a suspected illegal university operating from a three-bedroom apartment in Ilado, Olorunda Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State, rescuing 106 youths allegedly recruited into the scheme.

The NSCDC Command also arrested the alleged proprietor of the institution, who was accused of luring young people from across Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries with promises of admission into a foreign university.

The operation was carried out on Monday, following days of intelligence gathering and covert surveillance by the NSCDC operatives.

According to the Corps, the suspected institution was operating without an official name, registration, signboard or recognised campus, while allegedly presenting itself online as a distance-learning centre affiliated with a foreign university.

The Badagry Area Commander of the NSCDC, Chief Superintendent Gbenga Ekunola, said the raid followed credible intelligence about activities at the apartment.

However, investigations revealed that the rescued youths, mostly between the ages of 19 and 24, came from several Nigerian states, including Kogi, Oyo and some northern states, while others reportedly travelled from neighbouring countries, such as Niger, Cameroon and Togo, after being recruited online.

Besides, preliminary findings indicated that the victims were persuaded to pay admission and processing fees ranging from N200,000 to N1.5 million, while some foreign nationals reportedly paid between $400 and $500 after being promised admission into a foreign tertiary institution.

The NSCDC further discovered that the admission offer allegedly included a recruitment condition requiring participants to recruit additional students in exchange for commissions.

Investigators said the arrangement allegedly operated like a Ponzi or chain-marketing scheme, with participants promised increasing financial rewards based on the number of new recruits they brought into the programme.

One of the victims reportedly told the investigators that after paying $400, he convinced his brother in Kogi State to enrol and had already started receiving referral commissions.

The Command also uncovered another dimension of the operation, alleging that some participants were involved in promoting unidentified products online while earning percentages from product sales and recruitment.

Ekunola, who said many parents were unaware of what their children were actually doing in Badagry, said all the rescued youths would be profiled before being reunited with their families.

He added that anyone found culpable in operating the alleged fake institution would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.