The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has reportedly constituted a team to investigate Mr. Anthony Kila, the Pro-Chancellor of Michael and Cecilia Ibru University in Delta State, following an investigation by PREMIUM TIMES which reported that no recognised institution had awarded him the academic rank of professor.
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Michael and Cecilia Ibru University has, meanwhile, deleted every reference to Mr. Kila from its website, without explaining why, and without responding to the investigation.
Mr. Kila has rejected the description of him as a “fake professor,” maintained that he holds the title, offered to make his documents available for scrutiny, and said he has instructed his lawyers to advise him on steps to protect his reputation.
A source at the anti-corruption agency told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday that the commission’s leadership was concerned by the allegations, particularly because Mr. Kila chairs the governing council of a Nigerian university.
The source said the Commission considered it embarrassing to the nation for the head of a university’s governing council to present himself as a professor without evidence that he was awarded the rank.
“An investigation team has been put together to look into the matter,” the source said, asking not to be named because he was not authorised to speak publicly on the issue.
The newspaper contacted the Commission’s spokesman, Mr. John Odey, for confirmation. He said he was not aware of the investigation, but undertook to check with the relevant desk and revert.
According to the source, the inquiry would not be limited to establishing whether Mr. Kila falsely presented himself as a professor.
The Commission, he said, would also examine whether the university used Mr. Kila’s “professorial status” in any official documents, engagements or representations, and whether the institution obtained any advantage or leverage from his academic title.
He said the Commission’s interest was heightened by Mr. Kila’s position as pro-chancellor, and that the agency would establish whether the alleged misrepresentation had any implications for the university or for its dealings with public institutions.
The Commission is expected to establish the circumstances in which the title was presented, and whether any official benefit was derived from it.
Mr. Kila has served as pro-chancellor since August 2025, and his name, profile and photographs had been published on the institution’s website.
A review of the website by PREMIUM TIMES at about 7 p.m. on Monday showed that his name, profile and photographs had been removed, leaving no trace of him. A further review at about 9.25 a.m. on Tuesday confirmed that the material was still absent.
His details had previously appeared alongside those of the proprietress, Dr. Cecilia Ibru, a former banker and chief executive officer of the defunct Oceanic Bank, and the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ibiyinka Fuwape.
The university has made no public statement on the investigation. The Vice-Chancellor said the institution would respond to the questions it raised.
For more than a decade, Mr. Kila has used the title of professor, appearing at public events and on national television.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that it found he was never awarded the academic rank, and that he had presented himself as a professor and as a “Jean Monnet Professor of Strategy and Development.”
When contacted, he told the newspaper that the European Centre for Advanced and Professional Studies, which he said was based in Cambridge in the United Kingdom, awarded him the professorship in 2016.
The newspaper reported that it found no evidence that the institution exists. Searches of the United Kingdom’s Companies House register, Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission and general online sources produced no website, social media account, physical address or alumni record.
The European Education and Culture Executive Agency, which administers the Jean Monnet Actions, disowned any affiliation between Mr. Kila and the programme, and any award to him of a Jean Monnet professorship.
In his response, Mr. Kila maintained that he is a professor.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I am a professor, and I stand by the title and the professional and academic credentials on which it is based,” he said in a statement responding to the publication of 3 October 2026.
He said the report proceeded from “an incomplete understanding of the nature, origin and institutional basis” of his professorship, and that he was prepared to make documents relating to his professorial status available for scrutiny.
He objected to the description “fake professor,” saying it was inaccurate, misleading and damaging, and had been presented as a factual conclusion with serious implications for his reputation.
“I am baffled by the level of attention directed at me,” he said, adding that he neither held political office nor was seeking one, and was not a government official. He acknowledged the role of journalism in scrutinising the credentials of those occupying positions of responsibility, but said such scrutiny should be fair and properly informed.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that he sidestepped the questions raised and did not produce evidence of the institution said to have awarded the rank.
Mr. Kila also said he had instructed his lawyers to review the publication and the subsequent dissemination of the allegations, and to advise him on appropriate legal steps to protect his reputation and professional standing.
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