Beyond faking his professorship, Anthony Kila, the now-suspended Pro-Chancellor of Michael and Cecilia Ibru University (MCIU), additionally falsified his academic data, PREMIUM TIMES can now report.
The PREMIUM TIMES investigation that uncovered him as a pretend professor surprised Nigerians and many individuals worldwide, together with those that recurrently watch him on tv, hear to him on the radio, and skim him in newspapers pontificating in regards to the want for honesty and transparency in governance and in private and non-private lives.
Many questioned how he managed to put on the pretend academic rank for greater than a decade with out suspicion. Others questioned why he didn’t stick to a ‘Dr’ title, given the PhD they believed he had.
However, this second a part of our five-month PREMIUM TIMES investigation into Mr Kila’s credentials has now revealed that he additionally falsified the Bachelor’s, grasp’s, and doctorate levels he claimed to have obtained from a number of universities within the United Kingdom and Italy. This revelation has raised severe questions on whether or not he attended and accomplished any post-secondary establishment at all.
Mr Kila instructed our reporter he earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Classic Studies from Università per Stranieri, Italy, in 1989, adopted by a Master of Arts (MA) in European Studies from the identical establishment in 1991.
He additionally claimed a Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) in Media and Communication from the University of Essex in 1992 and a Master of Science (MSc) in International Banking and Finance from City University London (now City St George’s, University of London) in 1994.
In addition, Mr Kila claimed a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Political Economy from the University of Perugia in 1997, adopted by a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Aston University, Birmingham, in 2002.
He additionally claimed he earned a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCE) from Cambridge in 2006 and a Master of Laws (LLM) from the identical establishment in 2009.
But PREMIUM TIMES can now report that Mr Kila’s age-old claims are false. These academic credentials, similar to his professorship, have been all made up.
While some universities contacted by this newspaper disowned him outright, others stated they don’t supply the programmes that would have yielded the certificates he claimed to have obtained.
When introduced with our findings this week, Mr Kila stated he was nonetheless gathering his academic data and due to this fact unable to present proof of those levels.
“I am currently putting together my academic and professional documents, and they will be ready soon,” he instructed our reporter by way of electronic mail.
The pretend professorship
This newspaper’s enquiry into Mr Kila’s academic credentials started 5 months in the past with a probe into his professorship, a rank he publicly claimed for a few years.
He instructed our reporter that the European Centre for Advanced and Professional Studies (ECAPS) made him a professor and a Jean Monnet Professor of Strategy and Development in 2016. But this newspaper discovered that the establishment doesn’t exist.
The European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), which administers the Jean Monnet actions, additionally disowned his claimed Jean Monnet Professorship.
Days after the PREMIUM TIMES exposé, the Michael and Cecilia Ibru University (MCIU) suspended him as pro-chancellor, a job he has held since August 2025.
Scrutinising Mr Kila’s academic qualifications
In May, after our investigation flagged Mr Kila’s academic and professorial credentials, PREMIUM TIMES reached out to him and requested a complete Curriculum Vitae (CV) itemizing his establishments and qualifications, in addition to the locations he has labored over time.
Mr Kila referred our reporter to his profile on the web site of the Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies (CIAPS), an organisation he controls. MCIU additionally revealed the profile on its web site, then eliminated it after our investigation uncovered Mr Kila’s pretend professorship.
The profile didn’t state which colleges he attended or the qualifications he obtained. It listed a number of qualifications, together with an LLM, an MBA, an MSc, a PhD, a PGD, and a PGCE.
“Anthony studied in Cambridge, London, Perugia, and Suffolk. He graduated with a first-class degree in political economy and later specialised in political anthropology. He has taught in various colleges and universities in Cambridge, Ipswich, Lecce, London, Perugia, and Siena,” the profile learn.
The reporter then contacted Mr Kila and requested him to share his detailed curriculum vitae so PREMIUM TIMES may produce an in depth profile. He partly obliged, maybe salivating on the prospect of a promotional article about him on this newspaper.
Mr Kila’s claimed levels
One Thursday morning in May, Mr Kila despatched a listing of establishments he claimed to have attended and the qualifications he obtained from every.
In the temporary resume he shared, Mr Kila listed a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Classic Studies from Università per Stranieri, Italy, in 1989, adopted by a Master of Arts (MA) in European Studies from the identical establishment in 1991.
He claimed a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Media and Communication from the University of Essex in 1992 and a Master of Science (MSc) in International Banking and Finance from City University London (now City St George’s, University of London) in 1994.
According to the listing, he additionally obtained a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Political Economy from the University of Perugia in 1997, adopted by a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Aston University, Birmingham, in 2002.
He additionally claimed a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCE) from Cambridge in 2006 and a Master of Laws (LLM) from Cambridge in 2009.
Discrepancies
This newspaper instantly noticed that the resume he shared contradicted his public profile.
For occasion, he claimed to have graduated with a first-class diploma in political financial system and later specialised in political anthropology. But the resume he shared didn’t point out any first-class diploma or any first diploma in political financial system. Instead, the resume listed his first diploma as BA Classic Studies from Università per Stranieri, Perugia, Italy.
So, we set out to confirm the levels from every college, emailing every establishment to affirm whether or not he attended and graduated with the levels he claimed.
First Roadblock: Data Privacy Law
But the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) within the UK and Europe grew to become a significant roadblock within the verification course of.
Between May and July, the schools stated they might not reply to third-party requests, citing UK and EU knowledge safety legislation.
For occasion, City St George’s University of London stated the data sought is private and is exempt from disclosure beneath the UK Freedom of Information Act and the GDPR.
“To even confirm whether or not the information is held would involve the release of personal data about the data subject,” the college stated in a reply to PREMIUM TIMES’ request.
Some universities, together with Aston University and the University of Cambridge, referred our reporter to third-party verification web sites just like the UK’s Higher Education Diploma Datacheck (HEDD) service. But these companies required the candidate, on this case Mr Kila, to give written consent for the request to be granted.
PREMIUM TIMES due to this fact continued its investigation into his professorship, since we had already decided it was false.
The European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), which administers the Jean Monnet Actions, had already responded to our request, saying it knew nothing about Mr Kila.
We additionally decided that the European Centre for Advanced and Professional Studies (ECAPS), which he stated awarded him the professorship in 2016, didn’t exist.
Renewed Scrutiny of Kila’s levels
However, after investigating his professorship, this newspaper contacted the schools once more.
In the emails, this newspaper additionally requested the schools to make clear whether or not they ever supplied the academic programmes he claimed and whether or not he obtained them throughout the interval he claimed.
PREMIUM TIMES instructed the schools the data sought was within the public curiosity and for fact-checking.
This time, most replied, together with City St George’s University of London, Aston University, the University of Perugia, Università per Stranieri, Perugia, and Università per Stranieri, Siena.
Universities disown Kila’s levels
In its reply, Aston University disclaimed Mr Kila’s 2002 Master of Business Administration (MBA) diploma.
“There is no record in Aston University’s student registry of an Anthony Kila studying for an MBA,” an Aston University spokesperson instructed our reporter in an electronic mail.
The City St George’s University of London instructed PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Kila’s claims differ from its data.
The establishment, which stated it offered the data solely within the public curiosity, stated Mr Kila enrolled in a one-year Banking and International Finance programme in 2000 however was ‘deregistered’ and didn’t full it.
“They (Mr Kila) began their degree on 18/09/2000, with an expected end date of 31/10/2001,” the college’s press workplace instructed PREMIUM TIMES.
‘Their actual end date was 30/06/2001, and were deregistered from their course the same year. So, it appears they were on a one-year course that they did not complete.” It remains unclear which bachelor’s diploma Mr Kila utilized in enrolling for the course and why he was deregistered.
Mr Kila additionally stated he received a Postgraduate Diploma in Media and Communication from the University of Essex in 1992.
But the college instructed PREMIUM TIMES that it doesn’t supply a PGD in Media and Communications and has by no means supplied the programme.
“We do not offer this course, and we have not offered this course in the past,” the college stated in a reside chat with our reporter.
Non-existent academic programmes
While different universities didn’t reply particularly to Mr Kila’s case, they confirmed they don’t supply the programmes and qualificationss he claimed from them.
For occasion, the University of Perugia, the place Mr Kila claims to have obtained his PhD in Political Economy in 1997, instructed this newspaper that its economics division does n’ot award doctoral levels in political financial system. It additionally directed our reporter to its web site, the place it lists all its academic programmes.
“The Department of Economics offers a PhD programme in Economics – Institutions, Business, and Quantitative Methods,” the college stated in an electronic mail to our reporter.
The college’s web site additionally exhibits it has by no means supplied a doctorate in political financial system.
The college’s political science division provides a PhD in 4 specialities: Legality, Political Cultures, Democracy and Politics/Public Policies/Globalisation. There is none in political financial system.
Mr Kila additionally claimed to have obtained a Bachelor of Arts diploma in Classic Studies from Università per Stranieri, Italy, in 1989, and a Master of Arts in European Studies from the identical establishment in 1991.
PREMIUM TIMES discovered a couple of Università per Stranieri in Italy. There is one in Perugia and one in Siena. Although Mr Kila claimed he attended the one in Perugia, we contacted each.
“At the following link you will find all the information relating to our undergraduate and graduate degree programmes,” the Perugia-based college instructed our reporter in an electronic mail.
A overview of the establishment’s historic data exhibits that it has by no means supplied a BA in Classic Studies or an MA in European Studies. Yet, Mr Kila stated he earned Bachelor’s and Master’s levels on the college.
Our investigation revealed that the college by no means supplied Bachelor’s and Master’s diploma programmes throughout the interval he claimed to have attended.
The college provides BA programs in International and Advertising Communication, Italian Language and Culture within the Digital World, Made in Italy, Food and Hospitality, and Social Sciences for Sustainability and International Cooperation.
The college provides Master’s programs in Advertising, Communication, Storytelling and Image Culture; Italian for Teaching Foreigners; International Relations and Development Cooperation; Italian Food Management and Culture; Teaching Italian as a Non-Native Language; Contemporary Journalism; and Urban and Territorial Regeneration and Resilience.
According to the college’s historic archive, it started providing Bachelor’s levels solely in 1992 and postgraduate levels after 1999, following the implementation of the European Bologna Process, which established the trendy two-year graduate diploma framework.
Before then, it solely supplied non-degree programs in Italian literature, the historical past of Italian artwork, and the historical past of Italian music. Yet, Mr Kila claimed he earned a BA from there in 1989 and an MA in 1991.
Even if Mr Kila claims he attended the Università per Stranieri in Siena, the programs he claims to have studied have by no means been supplied there both.
The college instructed PREMIUM TIMES in an electronic mail that it provides three diploma programmes: Italian Language and Culture; Linguistic and Cultural Mediation; and Multilingualism, Translation and Interpreting.
At the Master’s degree, the programs obtainable are Letters, Teaching and Publishing; Linguistic Sciences and Intercultural Communication; Languages, Cooperation and Diversity; and Archaeology and Art Histories.
READ ALSO: Fake Professorship: Michael and Cecilia Ibru University suspends Anthony Kila
LLM, PGCE from Cambridge?
Mr Kila additionally claimed to have obtained a Master of Laws diploma from the University of Cambridge in 2009.
The college has but to reply to our enquiry. However, it’s unlikely that Mr Kila attended the establishment, as his obtainable qualification data confirmed he may n’ot have been admitted.
Cambridge, one of many world’s oldest universities, is thought for its strict admission necessities. A overview of the LLM admission necessities discovered that the college requires candidates to have at the very least a first-class legislation diploma.
“Successful applicants will typically be placed well within the top 10 per cent of law students in their jurisdiction,” the college stated.
“In exceptional and rare circumstances, you may be considered without a First Class Bachelor’s degree in Law provided you can demonstrate that academically you are within the top 10 per cent of lawyers in your jurisdiction.”
Mr Kila wouldn’t have certified for admission to such a programme, since there’s no proof that he ever enrolled in or earned a legislation diploma. He additionally didn’t declare one in his profile or the resume he shared with our reporter.
Mr Kila additionally claimed to have obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCE) from the University of Cambridge in 2006. But the college doesn’t run such a course.
The closest non-degree qualification in training that the University of Cambridge provides is the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education. It is a Master’s-level course, open solely to “Cambridge teaching staff with a minimum of three years’ experience of teaching in higher education”.
Since there’s no proof Mr Kila ever taught at Cambridge, he couldn’t have enrolled on the programme.
While Mr Kila claimed he obtained the certificates in 2006, the college’s web site confirmed the programme started solely in 2017.
Kila speaks
PREMIUM TIMES emailed these findings to Mr Kila and messaged him by way of his identified WhatsApp line.
In his electronic mail reply, he stated he was nonetheless contacting the establishments he related to and couldn’t get the requested proof in time.
“You are still on my case. I have been reading everything you have posted, and I still wonder who will benefit from my destruction,” he wrote to our reporter.
“I am currently putting together my academic and professional documents, and they will be ready soon. I started contacting the institutions I am associated with on Monday, and these documents cannot be ready by Thursday, as you are requesting here. As you can imagine, gathering these documents is a top priority for me.”
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