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

According to Punch, the Badagry Area Command carried out the raid in the early hours of Monday after days of intelligence gathering and surveillance. The alleged proprietor was arrested and is assisting investigators.

NSCDC said the institution had no official name, registration, signboard or recognised campus but allegedly presented itself online as a distance-learning centre affiliated with a foreign university.

Badagry Area Commander, Chief Superintendent Gbenga Ekunola, said operatives acted on credible intelligence before moving in.

Investigators said the rescued youths, mostly aged between 19 and 24, came from states including Kogi, Oyo and several northern states. Others reportedly travelled from Niger, Cameroon and Togo after being recruited online.

Preliminary findings showed victims paid between ₦200,000 and ₦1.5 million in admission and processing fees, while some foreign nationals allegedly paid between $400 and $500 after being promised admission into a foreign tertiary institution.

The NSCDC also alleged that participants were encouraged to recruit more students in exchange for commissions, with investigators describing the arrangement as resembling a Ponzi or multi-level marketing scheme.

One victim reportedly told investigators he had paid $400, recruited his brother from Kogi State and had already begun receiving referral commissions.

Investigators further alleged that some participants were involved in promoting unidentified products online while earning commissions from both product sales and new recruitments.

Ekunola said many parents were unaware of their children’s activities in Badagry, with one parent revealing her child had claimed to be learning a trade rather than attending a university.

He said all rescued students would be profiled before being reunited with their families, while anyone found culpable would face prosecution.

The NSCDC added that investigations have been expanded to identify other collaborators and determine whether similar fraudulent admission schemes are operating elsewhere in Nigeria.