Nigeria Universities Updates

Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; University of Ibadan (UI), Ibadan; Ladoke Akintola University, (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, and eight other Nigerian universities have made the list of top 100 universities and colleges in Africa for 2010.

According to the latest ranking of the African tertiary institutions by the International Colleges and Universities, Rome, Italy, LAUTECH is among the 11 Nigerian universities, out of 104 approved by the National Universities Commission (NUC), that made the list.

OAU is number 25, leading the Nigerian universities on the list, while the UI, University of Lagos (UNILAG), University of Ilorin, University of Port Harcourt made numbers 32, 51, 54 and 62 respectively.

Others are University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, number 73; Federal University of Technology, Akure, number 75, and LAUTECH, number 76.

Lagos State University (LASU), is number 83; University of Benin (UNIBEN), number 86, and Ahmadu Bello University(ABU), Zaria, is number 99.

Cairo University, Egypt, is leading the pack, with University of Cape Town, South Africa, taking second position.

LAUTECH, established in 1990, is the first state university to make the list, marking the institution out as the best state university among the 27 in its category across the country.

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No fewer than nine students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, are in the net of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Officials of the agency stormed the institution’s campus, and arrested the students suspected to be internet fraudsters.

Nine exotic cars and other valuables, including an unspecified amount of money, were also seized from the suspects.

The action of the EFCC, sources hinted, was sequel to myriads of petitions forwarded to it on the increasing rate of internet fraud among some students of the institution.

The Nation

gathered that the extravagant lifestyles of some students have been a source of concern to residents of the town.

“You need to see the criminal extravagance of these students. What is worrisome is that these prodigal students are from down-trodden families. They ride exotic cars that professors cannot afford, and they live in houses difficult for lecturers to cope. What then are their sources of income? So, the arrest by EFCC is a welcome and long expected development,” a resident stated.

The Nation

further learnt of one undergraduate from a poor background, who, within six months of being admitted into the university, bought a jeep and a car, as well as operated a fat account in one of the third generation banks.

During EFCC operation which lasted about two hours, amid tight security, scores of unsuspecting students, sources informed, were interrogated, while those whose responses were found questionable and unsatisfactory were whisked away.

When contacted, the university’s Deputy Registrar, Information and Protocol, Mr. Yomi Akintunde, confirmed the arrests of the students, but said the management did not intervene.

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