Tuition Scam: Ex-Female Staff, Students Defraud Varsity of N457m

An internal audit at Achievers University uncovered a massive tuition payment fraud involving staff members, students, and external collaborators accused of diverting hundreds of millions of naira through unauthorized personal accounts over three academic sessions.

Achievers University has uncovered a major tuition payment fraud involving a former female staff member, students, and several alleged accomplices, with the institution saying it lost more than N457 million in the scheme.

The acting Vice-Chancellor of the university, Oyesoji Aremu, disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday following the conclusion of the institution’s Students’ Fees Payment Audit Exercise.

According to the university, the investigation revealed that 320 students paid their school fees into the personal bank account of a former bursary staff member instead of the university’s official accounts.

The suspect, identified as an alumna of the university’s Department of Accounting, was reportedly employed in the bursary department after graduation before resigning from the institution in April 2025.

The university alleged that the former worker hacked into the students’ payment portal and fraudulently cleared students on the system after receiving payments directly into her account, despite the university not receiving the funds.

The institution stated that the fraudulent activities occurred during the 2023/2024, 2024/2025, and 2025/2026 academic sessions.

According to the statement, many students were allegedly persuaded to participate in the illegal arrangement through promises of discounted school fees and commission-based incentives.

The audit further indicted 11 staff members, 34 students, and one external collaborator said to be affiliated with Federal Medical Centre Owo for allegedly acting as agents who recruited students into the scheme.

The university management said all implicated students and staff members would face disciplinary panels to explain their involvement in the fraud.

Aremu added that the former bursary worker is currently under police investigation and may face prosecution.

He also stated that the institution would continue auditing students’ fee payments, including those of graduates from the last two academic sessions, insisting that the university remained committed to transparency and accountability throughout the investigation process.