House of Representatives Urges FG To Lift Blanket Ban On Benin and Togo Degrees

The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to lift the blanket ban on degree certificates obtained from the Republic of Benin and Togo. The call came after the House adopted a report from the Committee on Public Petitions during plenary on Wednesday.

Chairman of the committee, Laori Kwamoti, said the report was prepared following a petition submitted by Sovereignty Legal Practitioners on behalf of stakeholders in the education sector. The petition challenged the government’s decision to invalidate degrees from institutions in the two West African countries amid concerns over academic fraud.

The committee recommended that the government reverse the blanket ban, noting that it could unfairly penalize graduates who legitimately earned their qualifications. Instead, lawmakers suggested implementing a case-by-case verification process to address proven instances of fraud rather than applying a general sanction to all certificates.

The House further urged the Federal Ministry of Education to work closely with education authorities in Benin and Togo to improve verification systems, prevent academic fraud, and ensure proper authentication of foreign qualifications.

In January 2024, the Federal Government had suspended the accreditation and evaluation of degree certificates from Benin and Togo following an undercover investigation that exposed widespread certificate racketeering.