Some students enrolled in the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Open and Distance Learning (ODL) nursing programme have petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged financial exploitation, intimidation, and the continued withholding of their academic results.

In a petition titled “Save Our Souls (SOS)”, signed by Concerned Nurses of LAUTECH ODL and obtained by SaharaReporters, the nurses said they resorted to external intervention after internal complaints yielded no resolution.

According to the petitioners, they completed their final examinations in 2024, with results officially released in May 2025. However, results for a significant number of students remain withheld without any formal academic justification.

They said while some classmates have proceeded to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) or obtained exemption letters, others remain stuck in what they described as “academic limbo.”

Beyond the selective release of results, the nurses alleged a long-running pattern of systematic extortion and financial mismanagement by class executives, beginning from their 200 Level.

They claimed students were repeatedly compelled to pay ₦1,000 per person into personal bank accounts as “class purse,” without receipts, transparency, or accountability. Additional payments were allegedly demanded for sports, entertainment, and unspecified projects, often without any corresponding activities.

From 300 Level, students reportedly paid ₦1,000 per semester for a so-called school project, only to be forced to make further large contributions for the same project shortly before and after final examinations. According to them, refusal to pay was met with threats of result suppression or failure.

The petition further alleged that in 200 Level, one class executive—said to be a staff member of State Hospital, Ota, Ogun State—embezzled approximately ₦5 million belonging to the class. The individual allegedly blamed illness and medical expenses for the missing funds, but no refund has been made.

When students attempted to discuss the issue at a congress, the petitioners claimed that a former Board Secretary disrupted the meeting, stated that authorities were “aware,” and instructed students to drop the matter entirely.

The nurses also accused class executives of imposing repeated unofficial levies each semester for vague purposes, with no financial records. One individual, identified as Nurse Kinbokun, was singled out as allegedly receiving funds through multiple personal bank accounts and being repeatedly accused of dishonesty.

In 500 Level, first semester, students were allegedly forced to pay ₦13,000, followed by additional compulsory payments of ₦2,000 and ₦15,200 under threats of being barred from examinations. The petitioners also claimed that between ₦200 and ₦500 was routinely added to payments under the pretext of “bank charges.”

They estimate that ₦18 million or more may have been misappropriated by class executives. The group further alleged that funds were repeatedly collected under the claim that they were meant to “settle the school,” which later turned out to be false.

Students who questioned the payments or demanded a dedicated class account with bank statements were allegedly intimidated, threatened with failure, reported to alleged collaborators within the institution, or removed from class communication platforms.

In their petition, the nurses urged the ICPC and EFCC to investigate all personal bank accounts used in collecting class funds, audit all monies collected from 200 Level to 500 Level, and probe allegations of embezzlement, coercion, and abuse of authority.

They also requested protection from retaliation and intervention to ensure the immediate release of all legitimately earned academic results.

The petitioners said they attached screenshots of class communications and proof of payments to support their claims.