The European-American University (EAU) has rejected claims that it awarded an honorary doctorate to Hausa musician Dauda Rarara Kahutu, calling the ceremony held in Abuja a fraudulent event.

Naijaonpoint reports that the ceremony took place on Saturday at the Nicon Luxury Hotel and included guests such as Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda.

Individuals at the event presented themselves as university officials and handed out honorary degrees to Rarara and several others.

In a statement on its website, EAU said it had no part in organising the event and confirmed that none of the individuals received degrees from the institution.

The university also clarified that Idris Aliyu, who was involved in the ceremony, is no longer part of the university’s fellowship after falsely claiming to be a member of its governing council.

EAU further corrected misinformation about its leadership and location.

The current vice chancellor is Luca Scotto di Tella de’ Douglas di Castel di Ripa, not Josephine Egbuta, and the university is legally registered in France with a Royal Charter from Uganda’s Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara, not Dominica or Panama.

The university said it plans to contact Nigerian authorities to pursue legal action against the organisers of the fake convocation to prevent further issuance of false certificates.

Rarara and the other supposed recipients are not listed in EAU’s official register of graduates, confirming they have no formal connection to the university.

The statement read in part: “European-American University has not conferred any honorary doctorate degrees upon Dauda Kahutu Rarara, Alhaji Ahmed Saleh jnr., Mustapha Abdullahi Bujawa and Tarela Boroh. All holders of degrees from the University are listed in the Register of Graduates at https://europeanamerican.university/about/register-of-graduates These individuals are not honorands of the University and have no legitimate connection with us.

“The name of Musari Audu Isyaku is cited as “Northern Nigeria representative of the institution”. This person has no authority to represent European-American University and this statement is false.”