Whistleblower Deji Adeyanju Sparks Outrage Over Missing N71.2bn Student Loan Funds
The ICPC is under fire to speed up its investigation into a stunning student loan fraud that’s left a huge hole in Nigeria’s education financing. Deji Adeyanju, a familiar name in activism, has demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of the officials tied to the disappearance of N71.2bn from the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
This all comes to light after the ICPC noticed major red flags. The numbers just don’t add up—out of a whopping N100bn released by the federal government to support needy students, only N28.8bn actually made its way into students’ hands. That's over 70% of the funds missing, and the gap is too big to ignore.
Adeyanju didn't hold back, blasting the incident as a “gross betrayal of public trust.” He made it clear—at a time when so many young people are desperate for help to pay their school fees, this sort of loss isn’t just a bureaucratic mistake. It’s a punch to the gut for families betting on education as a way forward.
The crux of the anger isn’t just about missing naira. It’s about hope—the trust that government loans would open doors for thousands of students. When that trust is broken, as Adeyanju puts it, belief in the whole loan system is shaken. He applauded the ICPC for jumping in with an investigation, but he’s not satisfied with just good intentions. He wants the agency to not just ‘look busy’ but to turn over every rock and drag every culprit, no matter how high-up or well-connected, into the spotlight.
Taking the investigation further, the ICPC has reportedly expanded its search. They’re not merely zeroing in on government officials but also checking out every beneficiary institution and even some student recipients. By casting the net wide, the agency hopes to weed out the patterns and possible networks behind the disappearance.
The Bigger Picture: Restoring Trust in Nigeria’s Student Loan System
This isn’t just about punishment. Adeyanju, echoing what many parents and students feel, insists that swift prosecutions and convictions could actually restore some confidence in the battered loan scheme. Without serious consequences, the fear is that fraud will simply morph into new shapes, costing future students even more.
The wider story here is about accountability and trust. For countless families stretching to pay tuition or scraping together campus expenses, every naira from the government’s loan fund carries huge weight. The news of such a large-scale deficit adds salt to the wound in a country where access to education is already tough for many.
For now, the eyes of the nation are on the ICPC. Will they root out everyone involved, regardless of their position? The outcome could very well decide how regular Nigerians view official loan schemes for years to come. There is a sense that this time, nothing short of full transparency and real accountability will do.
