Arise TV Favourite Guest Exposed: How PREMIUM TIMES Uncovered Fake Professor Anthony Kila

A PREMIUM TIMES investigation has exposed Anthony Kila, the Pro-Chancellor of Michael and Cecilia Ibru University (MCIU) and a favourite guest analyst on Arise TV, as a fake professor who was never awarded the academic rank he has paraded for over a decade.

The investigation, published on October 3, 2026, found that Mr Kila, who was appointed Pro-Chancellor of MCIU in August 2025, has long presented himself publicly as a professor and a “Jean Monnet Professor of Strategy and Development” on national television and in newspapers.

But PREMIUM TIMES found that no recognised academic institution has ever awarded him a professorial title.

Mr Kila told PREMIUM TIMES that the European Centre for Advanced and Professional Studies (ECAPS) based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, awarded him the professorship in 2016.

However, PREMIUM TIMES found no evidence that the institution exists.

Searches of the UK Companies House, Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), and general online sources produced no evidence of the institution, including a website, social media accounts, a physical address, or alumni records.

The European Education and Culture Executive Agency, which manages the Jean Monnet Actions, also disowned Mr Kila’s affiliation, saying he does not appear as a Jean Monnet project coordinator for any project since 2015.

The agency said, “In other words, within the period for which coordinator data are publicly available, Mr Kila has not been listed as holding the role of Jean Monnet project coordinator since 2015.”

A professor and Co-Chair of the AfriquEurope Jean Monnet Network, Jean-Marc Trouille, also told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Kila’s status is “highly unlikely.”

Following the report, the Michael and Cecilia Ibru University (MCIU) on Monday moved swiftly to distance itself from him.

PREMIUM TIMES’ review of the website around 7 p.m. on Monday showed that Mr Kila’s name, profile and photographs had been removed, leaving no trace of him on the website.

Previously, his details featured alongside those of the proprietress Cecilia Ibru, a former CEO of the defunct Oceanic Bank, as well as the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ibiyinka Fuwape.

The university has yet to make a public statement. The Vice-Chancellor, Mrs Fuwape, said the institution would soon respond.

“We will reply to you very soon. The PRO will get in touch with you. The council is yet to meet. I can’t give you any information other than that,” she said.

The investigation also found that Mr Kila’s Google Scholar profile listed 22 works, but nine were not authored by him, and none could be independently established as a peer-reviewed article in a reputable journal.

In his ResearchGate profile, where he identified himself as a ‘full professor’, he listed no publications.

When contacted, Mr Kila sidestepped the questions but maintained he is a legitimate professor, without evidence of the institution that awarded him the rank.

He claimed the report was based on “an incomplete understanding of the nature, origin and institutional basis” of his professorship and said he had instructed his lawyers to review the publication.

Arise TV, where he is regularly invited for analysis as a professor, is yet to comment on the development.