Revealed: How Nigerian reporter bagged Cotonou varsity degree in six weeks, participated in Nigeria's NYSC programme - Newstrends
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Revealed: How Nigerian reporter bagged Cotonou varsity degree in six weeks, participated in Nigeria’s NYSC programme

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Revealed: How Nigerian reporter bagged Cotonou varsity degree in six weeks, participated in Nigeria’s NYSC programme

 

Cotonou is not only famous for the thriving second-hand car business popularly called ‘tokunbo’; it also serves as a good place to go for those in need of express degrees.

The story of obtaining questionable degree certificates from universities in Benin Republic and Togo is not new. What is new, however, is how these certificates can now be obtained with ease.

The requirements are O-level certificates – fake or genuine – and the amount to pay, which varies, depending on the course, urgency and class of degree.

In less than a month or two, one can be a ‘graduate’ from any of the mushroom universities dotted across the two West African countries.

The beneficiaries of these substandard certificates, who are either unintelligent or lazy, compete for jobs and other opportunities with hard-working graduates who undergo academic rigours for at least four years to obtain their degrees.

To get first-hand information on how these certificate racketeers operate, a DAILY NIGERIAN reporter, Umar Audu, went undercover and investigated the booming business.

Obtaining a Cotonou degree

In December 2022, the reporter reached out to a racketeering syndicate that specialises in selling the infamous degree certificates from the neighbouring countries to willing buyers at an ‘affordable rate’.

The agent however told our reporter the option of “studying” for a year or month, but he opted for the month option.

“That’s not a problem; we can help. If the money is ready, we can help you out. We have done it for a lot of people. If you make the payment now, the results will be ready next month,” he said.

The reporter’s choice of mass communication from any “university” in Cotonou was premised on the fact he could easily scale through the screening as he had knowledge of the course.

The agent gave the reporter the breakdown of the amount to pay, which included tuition fees, an evaluation letter, a resident permit, immigration stamps at the border post and transportation.

On December 27, 2022, our reporter made the payment and was issued a payment receipt.

True to the agent’s words, the certificate and transcript of Ecole Superieure de Gestion et de Technologies, ESGT, Cotonou, Benin Republic, were delivered to his office on February 17, 2023.

The transcript indicated that this reporter commenced the institution in 2018 and graduated on September 5, 2022.

Unfortunately, there was a slight mistake on the transcript, so it had to be transported back to Cotonou for correction, and one month later, the corrected version was received on March 29.

Prior to that, this reporter was never issued an admission letter or knew about the school the agent was processing for him.

All the agent said was, “don’t worry, everything will be sorted out.”

Like miracle, the reporter “finished” the four-year degree programme in less than two months without application, registration, studying, writing exams or crossing Nigerian border.

But despite having the certificate and transcript in his possession, the reporter had fears they could be fake, until he discovered a scan code placed on the left bottom of the transcript. And when the reporter scanned through, it directed him to the website of ESGT University, indicating that he is a genuine product of the institution.

On its website, ESGT, established in 2009, said, “It is an institution built upon a vision that enables individuals from a mix of different nationalities and cultures to get the best in undergraduate and postgraduate international education.”.

The institution is fully accredited by both the governments of the Benin Republic and Nigeria. It offers over 30 courses in management sciences, social sciences, applied and natural sciences as well as technology.

It was gathered that the racketeering agents in Nigeria work hand-in-hand with the top management of the university campus in Cotonou, whose registrar and English section coordinator are Nigerians.

“The evaluation letter doesn’t come from us. It comes from the Ministry of Education. They are the ones causing the delay; they want more bribes, but we are still negotiating with them. But please be a little bit patient with us; it’s a general problem,” he said in response our reporter’s complaint over evaluation delay.

After payment of additional money through the agent, the evaluation letter was eventually released. The letter is a mandatory requirement for NYSC mobilisation.

In separate letters dated May 25 and 26, addressed to the director general of the National Youth Service Scheme, NYSC, the Federal Ministry of Education confirmed that the ESGT is on the ministry’s list of accredited institutions.

The letter, which was signed on behalf of the minister by the deputy director of Evaluation and Accreditation, Koli Salihu-Mongodiba, also cleared 51 ESGT graduates to participate in the NYSC, “having met all the requirements set by the ministry”.

“The institution is on the ministry’s list of accredited institutions in Benin, and the bachelor degrees awarded to the students as indicated on the attached list are equivalent to bachelor degrees awarded by any Nigerian university in a similar field of study,” the letter read in part.

Agents of these mushroom universities are said to connive with some corrupt officials at the Federal Ministry of Education to get evaluation letters for a fee ranging from N40,000 to N70,000 per “graduate”.

Double NYSC participation

When the NYSC opened its portal for 2023 Batch B registration in June, this reporter was afraid that the system would reject him outright as he had genuinely participated in the scheme in the past.

But soon after he began the screening, his fears was allayed as the NYSC seemingly lacked the digital tool to flag attempts to participate in the scheme twice or more.

The only initial obstacle he had was when he input the email and phone number he used during his genuine NYSC registration, a message popped up saying, “This email and phone number have already been registered.” Our reporter then immediately switched to his alternative phone number and email.

He therefore created a new profile, uploaded all the required documents, including fingerprints.

The next stage was physical verification of documents. Usually, there are two stages of verification — physical and online evaluation.

On July 3, while registration was going on smoothly for students who obtained certificates from less questionable foreign institutions, those from Benin Republic and Togo were subjected to a more thorough screening exercise.

At that stage, NYSC officials rejected our reporter’s evidence of Cotonou residency, but after months of back-and-forth, he was eventually linked with an immigration official who facilitated the stamping of his passport to show evidence of multiple entry and exit from Seme Border between 2018 and 2022.

Although the reporter never crossed any Nigerian borders, the officer was able to get his passport stamped by both Nigerian and Beninois immigration agents.

After the tedious process, the reporter was eventually cleared for both physical and online evaluations, and on November 22, posted to Cross Rivers for one year service.

My experience at Obubra

I arrived at the orientation camp in Obubra, a predominantly rice farming community, at exactly 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, 26, 2023, for the 21-day orientation course.

On the posting letter every prospective Corp member was expected to arrive the camp  from Friday November 24 to Sunday November 26, 2023.

I scheduled my journey for Saturday, and there was no direct flight going to Calabar on that day.

So I had to fly to Enugu, from where I traveled by road for 250 kilometres before arriving at Obubra.

As expected, we were subjected to security checks at the gate by operatives consisting of Nigeria Police, Nigeria Military, and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.

After successful screening at the gate, we were asked to take a certain direction where we saw some NYSC officials who asked us to write down our names, and immediately gave us room allocation.

The registration spot for foreign graduates is different from that of home-trained graduates.

The female official I met requested I bring out all the documents I used in applying for NYSC, which I obliged. I was subjected to another round of written and oral interviews. I answered all the questions diligently, and I was cleared and given a tag.

The tags contain my state code and the platoon number.

I moved to Platoon 9, where I was deployed. My credentials were documented and I was given a complete NYSC kit.

While accepting the kits with mixed reactions, I reminisced about the experience I went through at NYSC orientation camp in Ede in 2018.

It was a similar process, except that in 2018 I spent four years to study in a Nigerian university before being allowed to participate in the scheme.

I hurriedly dashed to the hostel to change my mufti and put on the approved dress.

Due to the regimented nature of the camp activities, the camp director and state coordinator, at every opportunity, would appeal to corps members with underlying illnesses to apply for exit if they can’t cope with the stress.

I took the advantage of that offer and applied for exit after spending eight days in Obubra Camp.

-Daily Nigerian with minimum editing by NewsTrends

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NYSC Releases Step-by-Step Guide for Date of Birth Correction on Portal

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June 8, 2026

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NYSC Releases Step-by-Step Guide for Date of Birth Correction on Portal

NYSC Releases Step-by-Step Guide for Date of Birth Correction on Portal

Nigeria – The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has outlined the procedure for prospective corps members seeking to correct their dates of birth on the NYSC portal following the release of call-up letters for the 2026 Batch B Stream I orientation exercise.

The scheme said affected prospective corps members (PCMs) must obtain a 19- or 20-digit WAEC Verification Pin before initiating the correction process on the portal. According to NYSC, candidates are required to complete their registration and log in to their dashboard to access the date-of-birth correction link.

Step-by-Step Procedure for NYSC Date of Birth Correction

To correct a date of birth on the NYSC portal, prospective corps members should follow these steps in order:

  1. Obtain WAEC Verification Pin – Get a 19 or 20-digit WAEC Verification Pin from WAEC or any authorized bank branch. This pin is required to sync your details with the WAEC database.

  2. Log in to Your Dashboard – Submit your initial registration, then log in to your NYSC dashboard to access the correction features.

  3. Locate the Correction Link – Click on the “Correction of Date of Birth” link within your dashboard options.

  4. Enter Your Details – Input your WAEC Verification Pin, select your WAEC Type, choose your Year of Examination, and enter your Examination Number.

  5. Verify Information – Click on the “Verify” button to allow the system to sync your data with the WAEC database.

  6. Submit or Cancel – Click SUBMIT to save your changes or CANCEL if you need to review the information further.

According to an NYSC clarification issued prior to the call-up letter release, the Date of Birth correction option only becomes available on PCM dashboards after call-up numbers have been issued. The NYSC urged prospective corps members to remain calm and assured them that once their call-up numbers are available, the portal will automatically reflect the correction option.

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Beyond date of birth correction, the NYSC also allows prospective corps members to request corrections for name (must exactly match certificates), course of study, class of degree, and qualification. The scheme directed prospective corps members whose names on their certificates or statements of results do not exactly match the names uploaded on the NYSC portal to contact their institutions and ensure the records are properly aligned before proceeding to camp.

The development comes as NYSC released call-up letters for the 2026 Batch B Stream I orientation course. The scheme also warned that PCMs whose dates of graduation on their call-up letters do not match the dates on their statements of results will not be registered at orientation camps. NYSC advised affected candidates to resolve such discrepancies through their Student Affairs Officers (SAOs) before reporting to camp. The same warning applies to corps members with inconsistencies in their date of birth records.

The scheme announced that some prospective corps members deployed to Lagos State will undertake their orientation course in camps located in Ekiti, Kwara, Ondo, Ogun and Osun states. Similarly, some corps members posted to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will have their orientation exercise in Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Kano and Kaduna states. The NYSC urged prospective corps members to print and sign their call-up forms ahead of registration at their respective orientation camps.

The date of birth correction process on the NYSC portal is free. The NYSC strongly advises all prospective corps members to triple-check their details before submitting their registration. Your Date of Birth, Date of Graduation, and Course of Study will appear on your Certificate of National Service or Exemption Certificate. Once you register at camp, you cannot correct these details anymore. Complete all necessary corrections before your orientation camp date to avoid issues during registration and ensure a smooth NYSC experience.

NYSC Releases Step-by-Step Guide for Date of Birth Correction on Portal

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NYSC Releases Call-Up Letters for 2026 Batch B Stream I – See How to Print Yours

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June 8, 2026

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NYSC Releases Call-Up Letters for 2026 Batch B Stream I (How to Print NYSC Call-Up Letter)

NYSC Releases Call-Up Letters for 2026 Batch B Stream I – See How to Print Yours

Abuja, Nigeria – The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has officially released the call-up letters for prospective corps members (PCMs) in the 2026 Batch B Stream I exercise. The scheme also issued a stern warning against night travel to orientation camps. The announcement was made on Monday, June 8, 2026, via the NYSC’s official channels. Prospective corps members are now able to log into the NYSC portal to check their state of deployment and print their call-up letters ahead of the orientation course.

The NYSC announced that some prospective corps members deployed to Lagos State will undertake their orientation course in camps located in Ekiti, Kwara, Ondo, Ogun, and Osun states. Similarly, some corps members posted to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will have their orientation exercise in Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Kano, and Kaduna states.

The 2026 Batch B Stream I Orientation Course is scheduled to commence on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, and will run until Tuesday, June 30, 2026. Registration and verification of prospective corps members will begin on Wednesday, June 10, and close at midnight on Friday, June 12, 2026. The swearing-in ceremony will take place on Friday, June 12, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. across all orientation camps nationwide. Prospective corps members are advised to note that registration portals and physical documentation at camps will close strictly at midnight on Friday, June 12, 2026. Failure to register before this deadline may result in forfeiture of participation in this stream.

The NYSC Osun State has announced that it is set to host the 2026 Batch B Stream I Orientation course at the NYSC permanent orientation camp, Ede. The swearing-in ceremony will be presided over by the Executive Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, while the Chief Judge of Osun State, Hon. Justice Oyebola Adepele Ojo, will administer the National Pledge and NYSC Oath of Allegiance on the prospective corps members. The scheme also called on the people of the state, especially the NURTW, to assist prospective corps members in locating the orientation camp with ease.

The NYSC reiterated its warning against night travel for prospective corps members heading to orientation camps. The scheme advised corps members to break their journeys by 6:00 p.m. and seek accommodation at designated safe locations such as corps lodges, military formations, police stations, or traditional rulers’ palaces before continuing their trips the following morning.

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The NYSC outlined several critical guidelines for prospective corps members ahead of camp registration. The scheme warned that prospective corps members whose dates of graduation on their call-up letters differ from those on their statements of results will not be registered at the orientation camps. Affected candidates were advised to resolve such discrepancies through their Student Affairs Officers (SAOs) before reporting for camp. The NYSC also directed prospective corps members whose names on their certificates or statements of results do not exactly match the names uploaded on the NYSC portal to contact their institutions and ensure the records are properly aligned before proceeding to camp. Additionally, the scheme outlined the procedure for correcting dates of birth on its portal. Affected corps members are required to obtain a 19- or 20-digit WAEC verification pin, complete their registration, log in to their dashboard, access the date-of-birth correction link, enter the required examination details, verify the information and submit the request.

How to Print NYSC Call-Up Letter

Prospective corps members can print their call-up letters by following these steps:

  1. Go to the NYSC portal at http://portal.nysc.org.ng

  2. Click on the “Login here” icon

  3. Login with registered email and password

  4. Click on ‘Print Call Up Letter’ link to access and print the document

PCMs are advised to print and sign their call-up forms ahead of registration at their respective orientation camps.

As preparations for the 2026 Batch B Stream I Orientation Course gather momentum, the NYSC has emphasised the importance of equipping young Nigerians with the skills and values needed to drive national development. The Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, stated in his keynote address during the 2026 Batch ‘B’ Pre-Orientation Course Workshop that orientation courses must serve as milestones of impact and renewed citizenship. He further noted that as the corps population continues to grow, it is imperative for state governments to appreciate and fulfill their obligations to the Scheme through the provision of befitting and functional orientation camps. Nafiu also advocated the constructive use of digital media tools and public perception platforms to train Corps Members in responsible digital conduct and effective community mobilisation. He further revealed the need to prioritise security awareness and sustain close collaboration with security agencies to ensure the safety of orientation camps.

The NYSC organizes its mobilization process into batches and streams to ensure efficient management of the large number of graduates participating in the national service program each year. Batches are groups of graduates mobilized at different times of the year, with Batch B typically beginning around June or July. Streams are subdivisions within each batch, created to avoid overcrowding at orientation camps and ensure smooth logistics. The entire service year lasts 12 months, beginning with the three-week orientation course and ending with a Passing-Out Parade (POP).

 

NYSC Releases Call-Up Letters for 2026 Batch B Stream I – See How to Print Yours

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WAEC Drops 24-Hour Exam Delivery Policy After Fatal Crash Kills Three Officials

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June 8, 2026

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WAEC Drops 24-Hour Exam Delivery Policy After Fatal Crash Kills Three Officials

WAEC Drops 24-Hour Exam Delivery Policy After Fatal Crash Kills Three Officials

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has reverted to its traditional 48-hour examination material distribution system after a controversial 24-hour delivery policy triggered nationwide logistical disruptions, late-night examinations and the tragic death of three officials in Gombe State.

The decision comes amid growing criticism from parents, school administrators, education stakeholders and lawmakers over the conduct of the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), which has been plagued by delays in the delivery of question papers to examination centres across the country.

Investigations indicate that the 24-hour delivery model was introduced by WAEC management as part of efforts to strengthen exam security and prevent the leakage of examination papers. The policy significantly reduced the time between the printing of question papers and their delivery to custodial centres nationwide.

However, insiders familiar with WAEC operations disclosed that the examination body traditionally relied on a 48-hour distribution cycle, which provided sufficient time for the secure transportation of examination materials across Nigeria’s vast and often challenging road network.

The compressed timeline reportedly placed enormous pressure on logistics personnel responsible for transporting sensitive examination materials. Staff members were forced to embark on long-distance journeys within a limited period, often travelling overnight through difficult road conditions and security-prone routes.

The challenges soon became evident as examination centres across several states reported delays in receiving question papers. Thousands of candidates were left waiting for hours before examinations could commence.

In some locations, students sat for papers late into the evening under poor lighting conditions, while others reportedly depended on alternative light sources to complete their examinations. The situation sparked widespread outrage and renewed concerns about the welfare of candidates.

The latest disruptions also revived memories of similar challenges recorded during previous examination cycles. Earlier this year, WAEC acknowledged that examination leakages, security concerns and logistical setbacks contributed to delays that forced some candidates to write papers at unusually late hours.

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As pressure mounted on the examination body, a tragic incident further exposed the risks associated with the new delivery framework.

Last Wednesday, three WAEC officials lost their lives in a fatal road accident while transporting confidential examination materials along the Gombe-Yola Road in Gombe State.

The deceased officials were identified as Eleshin Dennis Olayinka, Dan-Malam Add’ua Muhammed and Yusuf Umar Gwamna.

According to reports, the officials were travelling in a pick-up van loaded with examination materials when an oncoming trailer allegedly veered off its lane and collided head-on with their vehicle near Billiri Local Government Area.

The impact of the crash reportedly killed all three officials instantly.

The tragedy sent shockwaves through the council and reportedly affected the morale of several field officers involved in the ongoing examination exercise.

In an emotional condolence message circulated to staff members nationwide, WAEC’s Head of National Office, Dr. Amos Dangut, described the incident as a painful reminder of the sacrifices made by council employees in the discharge of their duties.

He expressed sympathy to the families of the deceased officials and prayed for the strength to bear the loss.

Sources within the examination body disclosed that concerns about staff safety, operational sustainability and the growing public backlash over delayed examinations contributed to the decision to abandon the 24-hour delivery model.

WAEC has now restored the 48-hour distribution system in a move aimed at stabilising logistics operations and ensuring the smooth conduct of the remaining papers in the ongoing WASSCE examination.

The reversal is expected to ease pressure on delivery teams and reduce the likelihood of further delays in the movement of examination materials across the country.

The development has reignited debate about how best to balance exam security, operational efficiency and the welfare of both candidates and examination officials.

Education stakeholders have urged WAEC to adopt more sustainable solutions, including improved logistics planning, stronger collaboration with security agencies and the deployment of technology-driven measures to safeguard examination materials.

Many observers believe the latest crisis provides an opportunity for a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s examination administration framework to ensure that efforts to curb malpractice do not compromise the safety of personnel or the academic experience of candidates.

As the WAEC examination continues nationwide, stakeholders are hopeful that the return to the 48-hour distribution model will help restore confidence in the examination process and prevent further disruptions.

WAEC Drops 24-Hour Exam Delivery Policy After Fatal Crash Kills Three Officials

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