Afe Babalola Advocates Life Imprisonment For Operators Of illegal Universities

The founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola, on Monday called for life imprisonment for anyone found operating an illegal university in the country.

Babalola, who made the call in Ado Ekiti when officials of the National Universities Commission (NUC) visited the institution on accreditation exercise, also called for the closure of illegal universities.

“The way illegal universities are springing up in the country is alarming, and there should be some measures to curb it.

“It is on this basis that I want to urge the NUC to impose a life imprisonment on all those who are involved in establishing illegal universities in the country.

“I am particularly worried about the irreparable damage these illegal institutions and their operators are doing to millions of students and their parents,” he said.

Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), charged the NUC to verify certificates paraded by lecturers to ensure their genuineness.

“I have discovered that many of the so-called lecturers and professors are holders of fake certificates.

“There is, therefore, a need for a law to impose severe punishment on anyone caught with fake certificates,’’ he said.

In his response, the NUC Deputy Registrar, Mr Mohammed Ndanusa, assured Nigerians of quality education.

He said the commission would follow the NUC template and arrive at a just decision.