The National Universities Commission (NUC) has told WikkiTimes that the International University of Bamenda (IUB), Cameroon, is not on the list of approved universities in Cameroon available to the Commission.
The Commission also said it is not responsible for verifying certificates issued by foreign universities.
The NUC made the disclosure in a letter dated 14 July 2026, signed by Abubakar M. Girei, Director of Academic Planning, on behalf of the Executive Secretary, Professor Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, and transmitted to WikkiTimes on 22 July 2026.
In the letter, referenced NUC/AP/PRV/VOL.VI/48, the Commission said IUB “is not on the list of approved universities in Cameroon available to the Commission.”
The response followed a Freedom of Information (FOI) request filed by WikkiTimes on 1 June 2026, seeking clarification on the recognition status of the institution.
IUB awarded a doctorate to Yakubu Adamu, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) governorship candidate in Bauchi State and a former state commissioner. Adamu has said he obtained the degree in 2020.
On 13 June, WikkiTimes reported that the NUC had not responded to its FOI request. The Commission’s spokesperson, Okoronkwo Ogbonnaya, later directed the newsroom to submit the request through another email address. However, the Commission had still not responded when the report was published.
In a second investigation published on 20 July, Iliyasu Musa, the NUC Deputy Director in charge of Servicom, told WikkiTimes by telephone that the Commission’s mandate covers Nigerian universities and not institutions outside the country.
Musa said the responsibility for verifying foreign institutions lies with the Federal Ministry of Education.
He also read from a letter purportedly issued by the Ministry of Education and dated 29 November 2017, which he said showed that IUB was on the ministry’s list of accredited institutions in Cameroon.
However, the letter concerned the equivalence of a bachelor’s degree and did not mention master’s or doctoral qualifications.
Musa declined to provide WikkiTimes with a copy of the letter, saying he was bound by an oath of secrecy.
Although the NUC’s latest letter was dated 14 July, WikkiTimes had not received the response when either of its two investigations was published. The Commission’s response reached the newsroom on 22 July.
The NUC’s latest response appears to contradict claims by spokespersons and defenders of Yakubu Adamu who have maintained that his doctorate was legitimately obtained.
In defending the validity of his credentials, his spokesperson, Daure David, pointed to IUB’s foreign partnerships. However, IUB lists six foreign partners, but institutions contacted by WikkiTimes did not confirm the claimed relationships. The University of Wisconsin-Madison said it had no record of any agreement with IUB and said it would seek the removal of the reference. The Chartered College of Teaching also denied any partnership. Archives at University College London found no evidence of links. Cardinal Stritch University closed in 2023, while American Central University was an unaccredited US distance-learning institution investigated over false degrees.
Cameroonian authorities have also stated that private higher education institutions in the country are not authorised to award doctoral degrees.
In a communiqué dated 13 April 2026 and signed by the Minister of State for Higher Education, Professor Jacques Fame Ndongo, the Cameroonian Ministry of Higher Education said no private higher education institution in the country is authorised to offer training at the doctoral level.
The ministry also said no offshore doctoral programme is authorised in Cameroon and that certificates obtained from such programmes cannot be recognised in the country.
Gabriel Djankou Nkuissi, National Executive Secretary of the National Association of Private Higher Education Institutions of Cameroon, told WikkiTimes in writing on 1 June that IUB could neither train nor host doctoral students.
The National Commission for Private Higher Education sanctioned IUB at its 30th session on 28 August 2024.
Cameroon Tribune reported on 3 September 2024 that the sanction was linked to the issuance of false diplomas and the institution’s refusal to compensate a student. The newspaper reported that the institution was closed for three years.
The Guardian Post reported the same sanction on 5 September 2024.
WikkiTimes also filed an FOI request with the Federal Ministry of Education on 23 June, seeking clarification on IUB’s status and whether qualifications issued by the institution are recognised. The ministry has not responded to the request.
Its Director of Press and Public Relations, Mrs Boriowo Folasade, told WikkiTimes that the request was forwarded to the Minister, who should provide any feedback.
The Freedom of Information Act, 2011, requires public institutions to provide information within seven days of receiving an FOI request, unless the applicant is given written notice of an extension. WikkiTimes received no notice of an extension from the ministry.
Editor’s Note: Read the first and second investigations here and here. This story was produced with support from the WikkiTimes Media Foundation and Civic Media Lab.
