UNN medical students stage protest over sharp hostel fee hikes, overcrowding, and unfair levies amid lack of university response
Medical and surgery students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) staged a protest on Wednesday over a 100 percent increase in hostel fees, coupled with additional charges described as unfair and burdensome.
The unrest followed a circular issued on Monday by Aaron Agbo, Director of the university’s Accommodation and Housing Directorate, which made payment of the 2025/2026 consolidated service charges a prerequisite for accessing hostel bed spaces.
The circular specified that the bed space portal in Nnamdi Azikiwe, Imoke, NUGA, and UNIMA hostels would open at 10 a.m. on 18 February, with allocation limited to 400, 500, and 600-level students on a first-come, first-served basis.
Accommodation was segregated by gender, with female students assigned to UNIMA and Imoke hostels, and male students to Nnamdi Azikiwe and NUGA hostels.
Agbo warned that any unauthorised sale or transfer of bed spaces would attract sanctions under university rules.
The announcement sparked immediate backlash.
Students accused the university management of pressuring them into instant payments without addressing longstanding grievances.
On X, the medical students’ association alleged tuition fees had risen by 100 percent, hostel fees by 150 percent, and a ₦60,000 development levy was imposed.
Final-year students reportedly face an additional “seventh-year fee” before accessing hostels.
Gentle Jemmy, a student, attributed the protest to enduring hardships caused by the multi-campus medical programme, with first-year students at Nsukka, second- and third-year students at UNEC, fourth-year students at the old site, and fifth- and sixth-year students at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH).
Jemmy criticised overcrowding, alleging hostels intended for two classes now house four, and disputed fees for non-existent years for hostel access at UNTH.
Another student, Naza, described the hostels as “rat- and snake-infested, with no water or steady light,” and called for urgent improvements to ensure safe and conducive learning environments.
As of reporting, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka management had not issued an official response, and attempts to reach the university spokesperson were unsuccessful.
