A law firm based in Sokoto has formally petitioned the management of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), demanding the immediate reimbursement of registration fees to students who had personally paid their dues before the intervention of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
Although NELFUND subsequently disbursed the institutional fees to the university on behalf of these verified applicants, the institution has allegedly failed to refund the initial payments made by the students, leaving the university with double payment for the same slots.
In a petition dated January 19, 2026 and made available to Okay News, a the law firm MA.M Jariri & Co., acting as Public Interest and Human Rights Counsel brought the matter forward. Addressed to the Vice-Chancellor through the Registrar, the letter invokes the Freedom of Information Act 2011 and Sections 36 and 39 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), framing the continued retention of the students’ funds as a violation of their rights.
The solicitors emphasized that the petition was drafted in good faith to seek an amicable resolution before escalating the matter further. They argued that since the federal loan scheme has effectively covered the cost of education for the beneficiaries, retaining the funds paid personally by the students amounts to an unjustifiable financial burden on the affected scholars, who often borrowed money to meet the initial deadlines.
This legal move aligns with earlier clarifications provided by the Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr. In late 2025, Sawyerr publicly appealed to tertiary institutions to refund students in such scenarios, acknowledging that verification delays often force students to pay upfront to secure their admission status. He had noted that while the Fund cannot forcefully extract the money, the Federal Ministry of Education is adopting a firmer stance to ensure institutions do not profit from the procedural lag.
It was gathered that the delay in refunds has caused significant distress among the student population, who are now caught between the university’s administrative processes and the federal loan guidelines. The NELFUND boss had previously explained that the complexity of synchronizing payments across different academic calendars often leads to funds arriving after school deadlines, making the refund mechanism a crucial component of the loan scheme’s integrity.
As the university administration reviews the petition, the legal representatives have positioned this correspondence as a preliminary step. The outcome of this demand is expected to be closely watched, as it could set a significant precedent for how Nigerian public universities manage the intersection of private student payments and federal loan disbursements moving forward.
