Nigeria’s higher education system is once again under the spotlight as the National Universities Commission (NUC) uncovers 100 fake professors across various institutions, with Bayero University, Kano (BUK), and Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti, topping the list.
BUK leads with 20 fake professors, representing 20 percent of the total figure, while EKSU follows with 15. Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is next with eight cases, amounting to eight percent of the total.
Also high on the list are the University of Ibadan and the University of Ilorin, each with 11 fake professors, making up 11 percent apiece, while Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, trails closely with 10.
The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN); Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA); and Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMinna), are each reported to have nine fake professors, ranking them fifth.
OAU, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria; University of Port Harcourt; and University of Jos each recorded eight, placing them in the sixth category.
The University of Lagos (UNILAG) follows with five fake professors. Covenant University, the only private institution on the list, has four, while Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, closes the list with two.
The NUC made the revelation in a bulletin published in November 2024, with Executive Secretary Prof. Abubakar Rasheed stating that the names of the fake professors were published on the Commission’s website. The affected universities were asked to verify the listed individuals.
Prof. Rasheed urged vice-chancellors to instruct their desk officers to thoroughly vet the list of academic staff submitted to the NUC to prevent such discrepancies. He stressed that the fight against academic fraud is a shared responsibility and called on university administrators to maintain accurate records of staff, students, and institutional operations.
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