Following an investigative report by DAILY NIGERIAN, which revealed how Nigerians rush to the Benin Republic to bag rash and easy degrees, a university based in Porto Novo, ESEP LE BERGER, has threatened to sue the newspaper.
In a letter dated 12 April 2018 and sent to DAILY NIGERIAN, the university said that legal action would be instituted against the newspaper if it fails to retract the university’s name from the list of ‘mushroom’ universities.
READ INVESTIGATIVE REPORT HERE: INVESTIGATION: Inside story of ‘Tokunbo degrees’ Nigerians smuggle from Cotonou
Recall that after a public outcry by some Nigerian students over how their colleagues rush to Cotonou to bag degrees within a year, a DAILY NIGERIAN reporter travelled to the country and investigated the situation.
Sequel to that, the Nigerian Education Ministry blacklisted degrees obtained from Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana and Cameroon.
According to the Education Minister, Adamu Adamu, the blacklisting applies to both the government and local job markets in Nigeria.
On the positive note, according to information reaching DAILY NIGERIAN, the investigation and the subsequent government’s measure has since started yielding positive results.
Our informants told us that some universities in Cotonou have started taking measures towards correcting the irregularities taking place in their institutions.
The Editor-in-Chief of DAILY NIGERIAN, Jaafar Jaafar, dismissed the university’s threats, saying the paper stands by its story.
According to him, one of the essences of correctional journalism is exposing corruptions, ills for the attention of the authorities so that proper action would be taken.
“When we published the story, many Nigerians came forward to give their own experiences. In fact, we have many names and certificates on hand that were awarded illegally.
“Our simple response to them is that we stand by our story,” he added.
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