40 Nigerian Students Sponsored By Nigerian Govt DUPED by Alabama State University
...Vows: 'We are taking legal steps against the varsity for STEALING our $500,000 for 3 Years'
*Says: 'Each Nigerian Student receives $32,000 a year that covers tuition fees, health insurance'
*Regret: 'We Don't use all Funds, but this University keep the Excess Funds without Refund'
* Alabama State University keeps Mute, Says: 'No Comment'
*U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins: “ASU should make at least preliminary payments on money owed to the students”
BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU/FOREIGN BUREAU CHIEF IN UNITED STATES
REPENTANT NIGERIAN MILITANTS granted amnesty earlier in Nigeria
who are schooling in United States have jointly accused Alabama State
University of being 'smart-by-half' for allegedly withholding and squandering
the remains of their $32,000 annual funds paid by Nigerian Government directly
to the University coffers to cover their tuition fees, health insurance and other
costs.
These angry Nigerian students, 40 in numbers from Niger Delta
undergoing various courses in Technology, Economics and other Information
Communication program are livid that Alabama State University authorities have
duped them of these funds that rightly belong to them. They had tried severally
to seek a truce with the varsity management but all their please for these
refunds had not yield any result.
Spokesperson of the group, Kehinde Batife, one of the students
explains: “When we got to the Second Semester, we were told we would be given
the Scholarship form. We were assured that when we got to the Spring, we would
be given this Scholarship forms that will reveal how our finances are being
managed. Other students receive refunds at the end of each Semester, but we
don't receive a cent. We tried to approach ASU for that on several times, there
was no profit to all our attentions. We tried hard, yet nothing is coming out
of it. So we have to take it further legally than this present step.”
Not taking any further chance, these Nigerian students filed
suit accusing Alabama State University, AUS, of wrongfully pocketing their
scholarship money, a federal judge has declined to dismiss their claims. The
complaint was brought by nearly 40 Nigerian students who the Federal Republic
of Nigeria sponsored by paying their tuition, fees, health insurance and other
costs.
Batife, who led the students’ efforts to reclaim their finances,
said “each student is given $32,000 a year by the Nigerian government to cover
their costs. Not all students use the entirety of that sum. Instead of
refunding the students what they didn’t use, ASU allegedly kept any excess
money. The university is also accused of putting the students’ money toward
services they were not using.”
Success Jumbo, a plaintiff in the complaint, said he hasn’t
lived on campus since 2014, but money continued to be taken out of his
scholarship fund and put toward campus housing. His words:“I’ve suffered a lot.
I got married May 2014. I’ve approached ASU on several occasions, I even took
my wife and my baby to them and said, ‘Look, I no longer live on campus. I
believe you guys understand the importance of being married. I need to get this
money so I can use it to pay for my housing elsewhere.”
Jumbo lament he never received a refund. Other students were billed for summer tuition, although they weren’t taking summer courses.
Jumbo lament he never received a refund. Other students were billed for summer tuition, although they weren’t taking summer courses.
Batife estimated that the university has withheld roughly half a
million dollars from the Nigerian students over a three-year period. ASU has
moved to dismiss the suit, state that the Nigerian government instructed them
to withhold the students’ funds.
Confusion crept in when an anonymous Nigerian government
official called ASU to “Hold on to the funds until instructions are given on
the process of refunds, about a week after the complaint was filed in the
court. In view of this, ASU states that it has no controversy with the Nigerian
government, and the students have no grounds to challenge instructions given by
an entity which funded their studies.
Though the court has preliminarily declined to dismiss the case, his opinion noted that the contract between Nigeria and ASU hasn’t been submitted for review, meaning that the case’s trajectory could shift if that contract comes to light.
Though the court has preliminarily declined to dismiss the case, his opinion noted that the contract between Nigeria and ASU hasn’t been submitted for review, meaning that the case’s trajectory could shift if that contract comes to light.
After U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins issued this order,
plaintiff’s attorney Julian McPhillips sent a letter to ASU’s attorney asking
that ASU, “...make at least preliminary payments on money owed to the
students.”
The suit also alleged that
the Nigerians were the only international students who were not allowed to use
their scholarship funds as they chose. Other international students were given
the freedom to buy textbooks and food from providers other than university
vendors. They were also allowed to put their scholarship money toward off
campus housing. Nigerian students allegedly were not.
Jumbo expressed pain: “It is only the Nigerian students that were restricted. We have been put in a box. Though I graduated from ASU in May 2016, the situation is still causing unnecessary strain. When you’re paying for something, and you’re not getting what you paid for, that causes stress.”
Jumbo expressed pain: “It is only the Nigerian students that were restricted. We have been put in a box. Though I graduated from ASU in May 2016, the situation is still causing unnecessary strain. When you’re paying for something, and you’re not getting what you paid for, that causes stress.”
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