The Federal Government has dismissed civil servants who obtained degrees from private universities in Benin Republic and Togo between 2017 and now.
Segun Imohiosen, Director of Information and Public Relations at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), confirmed the development on Wednesday.
In August, the government announced that only eight universities in the two countries were accredited to award degrees to Nigerians. This decision followed an investigative report by Daily Nigerian that exposed how a journalist acquired a degree from a Benin Republic university in just two months and used it to enroll in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
Following the report, the government prohibited the accreditation and recognition of degrees from unapproved institutions in Benin and Togo. An Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling was also set up to investigate certificate racketeering.
Former Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, revealed that over 22,500 Nigerians obtained fraudulent degrees from these countries. He described the certificates as damaging to Nigeria’s reputation and stressed that most recipients never left Nigeria, obtaining the certificates through racketeering involving local and foreign officials.
Mamman confirmed the government’s decision to invalidate the certificates, urging the private sector to adopt similar measures. He argued that the move was necessary to safeguard Nigeria’s workforce integrity and public image.
Although the exact number of affected civil servants remains unclear, it was gathered that the SGF issued a directive to all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to identify and terminate workers with degrees from the targeted universities.
A source confirmed that the action was based on recommendations by the investigative committee. Agencies such as the NYSC have already begun enforcing the directive, with five staff members reportedly dismissed.
NYSC spokesperson Caroline Embu confirmed the development, stating, “Five members of staff were affected by the directive contained in the letter from the office of the SGF. No more.”
