The management of Benue State University, Makurdi, has denied reports that N2 billion has gone missing from the institution’s accounts, describing the allegations as false and misleading.

At a press briefing held on Monday, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Professor Simon Terver, stated that there is no evidence of any missing funds. He clarified that a committee currently reviewing students’ compliance with fee payments is working strictly in an administrative capacity, not to investigate any alleged financial misappropriation.

“No N2 billion is missing. The committee’s work is strictly administrative, not investigative,” Prof. Terver said.

The university’s response follows a defamation suit filed by its Director of ICT against Mr. Henry Ibya, the Benue State correspondent for Aljazirah newspaper. The suit accuses Ibya of defamation, cyberstalking, and publishing false information in connection to a report alleging that BSU lost N2 billion due to the crash of its ICT portal. The report further claimed that the ICT Director had been suspended as a result.

Ibya was arrested by the Benue State Police Command on April 25 and remanded at the Makurdi correctional facility. He was later granted bail, and the case has been adjourned until July 2025.

Prof. Terver also addressed concerns about student fee payments, attributing low compliance to prevailing economic hardship and cultural attitudes equating school fees with taxation. He noted that many students are currently attending classes without having paid their fees.

“We are being careful with enforcement so as not to provoke unrest among students,” he explained.

The university, he added, is monitoring the situation closely and will take appropriate action once the committee concludes its review.