The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has refuted a viral report alleging that students who fail to repay their education loans after graduation will be sentenced to life imprisonment.
The agency described the publication as “fake news” in a statement posted on its official X account on Sunday. It also shared the circulated newspaper front page with a bold red “FAKE” mark to show that the report was fabricated.
The false publication, dated Thursday, May 27, 2027, claimed President Bola Tinubu declared, “All students who fail to repay their loan after graduation will go to jail for life.”
NELFUND stressed that no such directive was issued by the President or the Federal Government.
The Fund urged Nigerians to ignore the misleading report and rely only on information released through its official communication channels. It explained that the student loan scheme, created under the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act and re-enacted in 2024, provides interest-free financial support to qualified students in public tertiary institutions.
Under the existing law, repayment begins two years after beneficiaries complete the National Youth Service Corps and secure employment or another source of income.
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