The House of Representatives has approved a 10-year security protection for investigative journalist, Umar Audu, following his exposé on certificate racketeering involving degree mills in the Benin Republic.

Audu’s undercover investigation revealed a syndicate that facilitates the sale of unearned university certificates to Nigerians, many of which are then fraudulently cleared by government agencies.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Joint House Committee on University, Polytechnic, Interior, Foreign Affairs, and Youth Development is currently probing the scandal.

Chairman of the committee, Abubakar Fulata, announced the House’s resolution calling on the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), to ensure Audu’s safety for the next decade.

“We are grateful to Audu for his courage. We urge the Minister of Interior to ensure that the Civil Defence provides the required support alongside the police,” he said.

In his testimony before the committee, the journalist detailed how he acquired a Benin Republic university degree without attending classes, and had it cleared by the Ministry of Education for a N40,000 fee.

Reacting to the revelations, the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, sought the creation of an automated single-point contact system to centralise educational verification and check fraud.