The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has dismissed a viral publication claiming that students who fail to repay their education loans after graduation could face life imprisonment. The agency described the report as fake news in a post on its official X account.

The circulating material appeared to be a newspaper front page dated May 27, 2027, with a headline alleging that President Bola Tinubu had declared that all students who fail to repay their loans would go to jail for life.

NELFUND shared the image with a clear “FAKE” stamp to show that it did not come from the government.
The Fund has not announced any new criminal penalty of that nature for beneficiaries who default on their loans.

The clarification comes amid ongoing spread of misleading information about the student loan programme, especially around disbursement, repayment and possible sanctions.

Under the current rules, beneficiaries are not required to start repaying immediately after graduation. Repayment is expected to begin two years after completing the National Youth Service Corps, and only once the person has secured employment or is earning an income.

NELFUND administers interest-free loans to eligible students in public tertiary institutions to cover school fees and, in some cases, upkeep. The agency has repeatedly urged the public to ignore fabricated reports and rely only on official communication channels for accurate information about the scheme.

Photo credit: Punch Newspaper