The Federal Government of Nigeria has expressed its readiness to send security agents after those who fraudulently acquired fake and illegal foreign certificates and already using such for work in the country.
Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman, made this known on Wednesday when he appeared on Channels TV prime time programme Politics Today, which was monitored by our Reporter.
Mamman described those who are involved as criminals and not victims and so do not deserve any sympathy from the government.
“I have no sympathy for such people. Instead, they are part of the criminal chain that should be arrested,” the minister who could barely hide his disappointment and anger said flatly.
“If along the line, we can trace that there are people already in the system. For instance, if a particular institution or operator has been operating, say in the last 10 years, we will check if we can get records of Nigerians who attended that institution.
“Once we do that, they are criminals and you know there is no timeframe to criminality. We will trace them. As long as we can lay our hands on their institutions and they are right here with us, certainly, the security agencies will go after them because they are criminals, Mamman said when asked what would be done to Nigerians with fake foreign certificates already within the system.
In addition to the plan to send security agents after those who might have procured their certificates illegally, the Minister also revealed that the Federal Government would suspend degree certificates from more countries like Uganda, Kenya and even next door neighbour, the Niger Republic.
“We are not going to stop at just Benin and Togo. We are going to extend the dragnet to countries like Uganda, Kenya, even Niger here where such institutions have been set up.”
In a recent report, an undercover journalist detailed how he acquired a degree from a university in Benin Republic under two months and even went ahead to apply for and was deployed for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
Reacting to the report, the Federal Government
suspended with immediate effect further accreditation of certificates from Benin Republic and Togo. It also launched a probe which the minister said should submit its report in three months.
