Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Achievers University in Owo, Ondo State, has uncovered a massive school fees fraud involving a former female bursary worker, 11 staff members, 34 students and one external collaborator, who together diverted ₦457,508,645 into a personal bank account across three academic sessions. The university announced the results of a special audit that identified 320 students who paid their fees into the suspect’s personal account, after which she illegally cleared their financial records on the institution’s portal. The scheme, which spanned the 2023/2024, 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 sessions, was only exposed after the university insisted that every student must appear before an investigative committee for a one‑on‑one verification of their payments.
The Acting Vice‑Chancellor, Professor Oyesoji Aremu, disclosed in a statement on Monday that the fraud was masterminded by a female worker who was an alumna of the university’s Accounting Department. She was later employed in the bursary unit but resigned in April 2025, before the audit was completed. According to the statement, the suspect hacked into the institution’s payment portal and used her access to fraudulently clear students who had paid into her account. The university said many of the affected students were lured into the scheme by promises of discounted fees and commission‑based incentives. “The fraudulent activities affected three academic sessions and 320 students paid a total sum of N457,508,645 into the personal account of the said lady, who in turn fraudulently cleared such students on the portal without the university receiving the money,” the statement read.
The audit also uncovered a wide network of collaborators. Eleven members of staff and 34 students acted as agents, recruiting unsuspecting students into the fraud. One external person working at the Federal Medical Centre in Owo was also indicted as an agent. The university said six of the 34 student agents were among those who actively recruited others into the scheme. Aremu added that the suspect is currently under police investigation and faces prosecution. “Eleven members of staff and 34 students were used as agents of the said female worker to ‘recruit’ students for the fraudulent activities. One external person working at Federal Medical Centre Owo was also indicted as having served as an agent of the fraudulent activities,” he noted.
In response, the university has set up two disciplinary panels. All 320 students who bypassed the official payment procedure, including the six who acted as agents, will face the Students’ Disciplinary Committee. The 11 staff members will appear before the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee. Aremu said the university would continue the audit to review payments made by graduates from the last two academic sessions. “We have the approval of Council to exhibit absolute transparency in handling the investigation and dissemination of information to the university community, so as to eliminate rumor mongering and misinformation,” the statement concluded.
The scale of the fraud has shocked the academic community. The suspect, a former accounting student who later handled bursary duties, exploited her insider knowledge to create a parallel payment system. While the university has not disclosed the exact amount lost, the total of ₦457.5 million represents a significant portion of its internally generated revenue. The incident has also raised questions about internal controls in private universities, where tuition fees are a primary source of funding. Some stakeholders have called for tighter oversight of bursary departments and for periodic independent audits to prevent similar schemes. The police investigation is ongoing, and the university has vowed to pursue the case to its logical conclusion.
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