Operators of some universities in the Republic of Benin, whose certificates were earlier blacklisted by the Federal Government, may have moved their activities to Nigeria.
Checks showed that the owner of one of the Benin universities, a poultry farmer, has started a college in Lagos State.
The school admits and trains students without accreditation.
Our correspondent had exclusively reported that some Benin universities had devised means of sneaking their graduates into the National Youth Service Corps through certain private polytechnics in Nigeria.
The universities obtained Higher National Diploma and National Diploma certificates for their graduates and students due for graduation through the private polytechnics.
After issuing the HND certificates, the polytechnics would then mobilise the affected students for the mandatory NYSC.
Tower College
One of the institutions established by the proprietor of a blacklisted Benin university is the Tower College of Health, Science and Management, located on Igbokuta Road, Gberigbe, a remote community in Ikorodu, Lagos State.
On the school’s website, there is no evidence of accreditation by any recognised education authority.
Also, the date of the school’s establishment is not stated.
Further checks showed activities started on the college’s social accounts in March 4, 2024 (Facebook), April 10, 2024 (Instagram) and March 2024 (X).
On Instagram, where there are only four posts, a flier advertising the school, however, claimed it had been in existence for about eight years.
The website claimed that the school had 1,025 students and offered 24 courses, including Health Information Management, Computer Science/Engineering, Management & Information Technology, Biotechnology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Nursing Science, Accounting, Banking and Finance, Business Administration & Management, Human Resources Management, Marketing Communication and Commerce (MCC), Transport and Logistics Management.
Others are International Relations & Diplomacy, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Public Administration, Intelligence & Security Studies, Editorial and Digital Communication, Mass Communication, Audiovisual Journalism, Linguistics and French Language Communication.
Under the “About”, the school says it is committed to providing “professionals with the skills essential for diagnosing, treating, and preventing diseases and disabilities, thereby ensuring optimal health conditions within the community and beyond.”
The visit
Saturday PUNCH visited the college on three different occasions spanning two weeks.
On the first visit on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, our correspondent was told that students were on holiday but would return the following week.
The following week, it was observed that students had not resumed.
But a shop owner in the area said they would return the week after.
A commercial motorcycle rider also confirmed this, saying, “They dress like nurses. We call this place a nursing school.”
No JAMB exam needed
Saturday PUNCH observed that the college has just two buildings, both still under construction.
Our correspondent counted about eight staff members in the college.
One of the administrators, who identified herself as Miss Goodness, told our correspondent—who posed as a prospective applicant—that students would resume on Monday, October 27.
When asked how to secure admission, she said, “Writing the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board examination is not a requirement for gaining admission into the college.
“To be our student, you just need your O’level. There is no need for JAMB. We just need your WAEC ID card to check your result.”
She added, “The school fees for the courses is N334,000 because it is a fresh application. The amount includes acceptance and administrative payments. Although it is N260,000 per session, payment per session can be done in instalments — 60 per cent now and the balance later.”
She confirmed that the school and its programmes were not yet accredited.
“We are working on them,” she added.
Goodness stated that the school offered both ND and HND programmes.
“You will spend up to four to five years in the school. We give ND and HND certificates here. We have a hostel for female students. It costs N200,000 and is compulsory for all female students. They cannot live elsewhere except in the school’s hostel,” she said.
Students resume
When Saturday PUNCH visited the school on October 30, 2025 — said to be the resumption week — a number of students were seen on the campus.
At the entrance, a banner of the Redeemed Christian Church of God was displayed, welcoming students back to school.
It read, “Joyfully welcome you back to school. We pray that our Lord God Almighty will grant you success in this new session of your academic journey in Jesus’ name. You will finish well and in perfect health as the Lord is on His throne.”
About 30 students were seen on the school premises, with some attending classes around 12:46pm.
All the students observed were female; no male student was seen at the time of filing this report.
One of the students said they resumed on Monday and that more students would resume the following week.
Further investigation by Saturday PUNCH revealed that the founder of Esfam-Benin University in the Benin Republic is also the proprietor of the Tower College of Health, Science and Management in Nigeria.
Checks and photographs obtained from both institutions’ websites — https://towrcollege.com/academics.php and https://esfambeninuni.com/ — showed him as the founder of both establishments.
A source familiar with the college told Saturday PUNCH that the school was established following the ban on Benin universities.
The source, who is a school administrator in the Benin Republic, said, “Most of the Nigerian-owned universities in the Benin Republic are not in session at the moment because of the money requested to cancel the ban placed on Benin certificates by Nigeria. They couldn’t meet up, and schools are on hold. We now work in Nigeria.”
College founder or farmer?
Tower College is said to have been founded by one Oluwafemi Adeigbe.
Checks on the school’s website showed Adeigbe as the “Founder” without any information on any other person.
Adeigbe can be seen in what appeared to be an academic gown with a woman beside him in another photograph.
Saturday PUNCH traced Adeigbe to Instagram, where he identifies as “phatphamo”.
Information on his bio showed he is into “product/service.” His last posts were crates of eggs and a poultry farm.
His business phone number, obtained from the Facebook page of Tower College, revealed more.
On WhatsApp, where he identifies as an education consultant, there is a photo of him carrying a big fish.
The photo also showed he indeed has a poultry, which he named Tower Husbandry Farm.
The contact email of the school and the farm are the same: towcollege@gmail.com.
When contacted, Adeigbe denied having any connection with the school.
He said, “I am not the owner of Tower College of Health Science & Management.”
Upon further inquiry about his connection with the institution, he stated that he is a staff member of ESFAM-Benin University.
When asked about his picture appearing on Tower College’s website, the same picture found on ESFAM’s website, he stated, “There are other schools where my picture appears, not just these two schools. There are other places you can find my picture and they are educational settings.”
Education ministry reacts
In response to inquiries on the matter, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Folasade Omoboriowo, told Saturday PUNCH to provide the details of the institution.
She said, “Please give us the details of the school.”
Efforts to reach the National Chairman of the Council of Heads of Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology in Nigeria, Dr Usman Tunga, were unsuccessful, as his phone was unreachable and text messages had yet to be responded to as of press time.
A government official confirmed that the college was not accredited.
The source said that although it filed for registration, it had not yet been approved.
However, the senior official stated that the approval of any institution was solely the responsibility of the Minister of Education.
The source stated, “Since the Federal Government has placed a moratorium on federal and private institutions, it means the National Board for Technical Education can’t process any private institution for approval.”
The senior official concluded that the school was functioning without legal authorisation.
FG should clamp down on them – Ex-ASUP president, educationists
Commenting, an education development advocate and Chief Executive Officer of Educare, Alex Onyia, said the leadership of such an institution must face prosecution.
He condemned the false hope given to students attending the school.
Onyia stated, “Schools that are not accredited are illegal. The leadership should face prosecution since they are operating illegally and giving children false hope. That is what it is unless they are just tutorial centres, and that is understandable.
“But if students are coming and they are giving them false hope of a degree, they must face prosecution.”
He urged the Federal Government to establish a portal for verifying accredited institutions.
Speaking on the matter, a former National President of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Dr Anderson Ezeibe, said fraud had no place in education.
Ezeibe said, “No nation can go beyond its educational development. Education recognises diligence and anchors on integrity. It is the responsibility of the authorities in Nigeria to ensure that our portals are secured from unwholesome educational practices that will undermine standards and the quality of certificates issued within the Nigerian society.
“The departments should be strengthened to make sure that all certifications are given by institutions that are accredited. We need to step up our vigilance and ensure that we don’t permit unwanted qualifications from other countries into our system.”
A public commentator, Dr Ganiu Bamgbose, said regulatory bodies must prosecute such errant institutions.
He criticised the regulatory agencies for failing in their duties.
Bamgbose stated, “The problem is in the area of regulation. We have a weak regulatory system. If the regulatory systems were very fixed, those in charge of granting approval for the establishment and maintenance of higher institutions of learning were at the top of their game, the questions to ask would be: Who granted approval to the so-called colleges of education and polytechnics that are now award-giving institutions?
“The idea of schooling must be demystified for functional education. There is a need to fund and create more higher institutions. It is when there is no access to legal institutions that the illegal ones become options.”
He advised parents to be cautious about the kinds of schools they enrol their children in.
Reacting, an educationist, Mr Sulaimon Okewole, expressed concern, noting that the Federal Government should take steps to end such schools.
He said, “We have a problem at hand. The best thing is to call on the government to clamp down on these schools as quickly as possible.”
The more they are allowed, the more problems we are going to have in the future.
“It is a problem that has long-term damaging consequences because a college of education is a teacher-training academy. It is a place where teachers are groomed, made, and trained. We expect that these teachers become professionals who produce experts in all walks of life.”
He criticised the competence and qualifications of lecturers in these schools, adding that they lacked the ability to deliver quality teaching.
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