The quest by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to rid the nation of illegal degree-awarding institutions paid off on Tuesday with the arrest in Lagos of a proprietor and bursar for operating unapproved private universities.
The NUC Committee on Closure of Illegal Universities, in collaboration with ICPC and operatives of the State Security Service (SSS), raided the operational bases of the alleged illegal universities at Egan and Ojokoro in Lagos State.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of NUC Committee on Closure of Illegal Universities, Adebisi Balogun, who led the team, stormed Evangel Christian University of America at Egan and Clinton University Study Centre at Ojokoro.
At the Evangel Christian University of America, the committee arrested the Bursar, Dr. Philip Nnaji, confiscated several documents and sealed off the place. Some of the documents seized by the team included students’ projects, receipts, computer hardware, list of admitted students, bank tellers and files containing the list of the university management, while the three-bedroom flat was sealed off.
Before he was arrested, Dr. Nnaji engaged the NUC/ICPC team in war of words, insisting they were not operating illegally and that the proprietor had the necessary documents from the parent body in America to award degrees.
When he was asked if he knew that it was only NUC on behalf of the Federal Government that could give approval for private university, Dr. Nnaji kept mute and failed to produce any document to back up their operation.
At Clinton University Study Centre in Ojokoro inside a shopping mall, the proprietor, Mr. Clinton Uranta, denied operating a degree awarding mill, insisting he was running a management programme under the name Clindick Management Academy and also preparing students for external examinations. Uranta, who admitted he had started the process of seeking NUC approval to operate Clinton University, Afam, Rivers State, explained: “I applied to NUC last year and was invited to their office in Abuja and when I got there, NUC said no. This year, I applied for the proposed Clinton University. We went for the interview and were successful and NUC wrote in June 2014 asking us to come and pick the form to run the university.
Source: http://sunnewsonline.com/new/?p=71473