A concerned citizen, Mr Alex Onyia, has demanded the disclosure of records relating to hostel maintenance, fund utilisation, and compliance with federal intervention directives from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Onyia’s request is sequel to a viral video of an alleged squalid state of some hostels of UNN, particularly at its Enugu Campus (UNEC). The video had displayed dilapidation of some facilities of the hostels, particularly the toilets.
Onyia’s letter, dated April 22, 2026, and signed by SN Ogbonna, a lawyer, was addressed to the vice chancellor of UNN, Prof Uchenna Ortuanya. The letter was written on behalf of Onyia by his solicitors, F.K. Nnadi and Co. The solicitors said the request was in the public interest concerning the state of infrastructural facilities at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.
Onyia, in the letter, with number Ref:FNK/PH.CH/2026/VOL.4/00138, stated that the request was made pursuant to Sections 1 (1), 2(3), 4 and 7 of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, which confers an enforceable right of access to information in the custody of public institutions, impose a mandatory obligation to disclose such information within seven days, and place the burden of justification for any refusal squarely on the institution.
The request said the state of the hostels of the Enugu Campus of the university was already in the public record, adding that it “raises grave concerns regarding safety, sanitation and habitability”.
The letter claimed that “substantial public funds have been allocated and disbursed in recent years for infrastructural maintenance and rehabilitation across federal tertiary institutions, including directives specifically requiring the prioritisation of hostel rehabilitation and related facilities”.
Onyia therefore demanded certified true copies of the total sums allocated and received by UNN from all federal government intervention funds, including but not limited to TEDFund allocations, designated for infrastructural development, maintenance or rehabilitation; a detailed and itemised account of hostel construction, maintenance, renovation, or rehabilitation at the Enugu Campus; the identities, addresses, and corporate particulars of all contractors and service providers engaged in respect of the said projects, and the contract sums, scope of work, procurement process adopted, and agreed timelines for each project.
Also included are all the payment records, including approvals, vouchers, certificates of payment, and disbursement schedule; all monitoring, inspection, audit, performance evaluation, and/or completion reports relating to the said projects, as well as records evidencing compliance (or otherwise) with any federal government or TETFund directives concerning the prioritisation of hostel rehabilitation and related infrastructure. The scope of the request is June 1, 2023 to date.
The university was given seven days to comply with the request, or face court actions.
UNN is yet to react to the request at the time of filing this story.
