Federal University Gusau Faces Lawsuit as 495 Students Demand NELFUND Fee Refunds

No fewer than 495 students of the Federal University Gusau (FUGUS) have dragged the institution before the Federal High Court, seeking an order compelling the university to refund registration fees allegedly withheld after the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) paid their tuition.

The suit, filed by Tijjani Magaji of Al-Inqaaz Legal Consults, is an application for judicial review and an order of mandamus against the Federal University Gusau, the Vice-Chancellor, the Bursar and the Director of Finance. The lawyer is acting in the public interest on behalf of the affected students, whose names were attached to the court filings.

According to the court documents, the students, all final-year students in the 2024/2025 academic session, had initially paid their registration fees from personal funds before successfully applying for financial support under the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.

NELFUND later disbursed tuition fees directly to the university on behalf of the students, creating duplicate payments. The students argue that they became entitled to refunds of the fees they had earlier paid, but the university allegedly failed to return the money despite acknowledging the obligation

Before approaching the court, Magaji issued a pre-action notice dated April 27, 2026, which was received by the Office of the Vice-Chancellor on April 28, 2026. The notice gave the university 30 days to refund the students or face legal action. The university allegedly failed to act within the stipulated period, prompting the lawsuit.

The litigation comes amid growing nationwide scrutiny of tertiary institutions accused of withholding tuition refunds belonging to students whose fees were later settled through NELFUND.

Earlier this month, NELFUND Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed that the agency was investigating about 34 tertiary institutions over complaints that they received duplicate tuition payments but failed to refund students who had already paid before the loan disbursements.

According to the Fund, the practice undermines the objectives of the student loan programme, which was established to remove financial barriers to higher education rather than create additional hardship for beneficiaries.

As of July 2026, NELFUND said it had disbursed over ₦282 billion to students across 353 participating public tertiary institutions, with more than 1.39 million beneficiaries enrolled under the scheme.

While several institutions have reportedly refunded affected students after receiving NELFUND payments, others are yet to do so, leading to petitions from students and parents.

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) recently intensified pressure on institutions by publishing a list of 39 tertiary institutions it alleged had received NELFUND tuition payments without refunding students who had previously settled their fees independently. The association said the publication was intended to promote transparency and accountability in the implementation of the student loan scheme.

The Federal University Gusau has yet to issue an official response to the lawsuit.

Legal observers say the case could become one of the first judicial tests of universities’ obligations under the NELFUND framework and may set a precedent for similar disputes involving students across the country who are still awaiting refunds after duplicate tuition payments.