Tension is brewing among students of the Federal University of Lafia (FULafia) following a rent hike announced by a landlord in Gandu, a popular off-campus residential area.
In a formal notice dated August 6, 2025, issued by A.M. Barde Esq., counsel to the landlord Abdullahi Adamu Egye, tenants were informed that the rent for a one-room self-contained apartment would increase from ₦160,000 to ₦250,000, effective upon renewal of their next rent.
The letter further stated that any tenant unwilling to comply should vacate the premises at the expiration of their current tenancy.
The increment has sparked widespread outrage, especially among students who consider the new rent unaffordable. Many took to social media to express their displeasure.
Reactions:
Agafi AbdulShaheed Adamu: “The solution na abundant hostels should be made available to accommodate a very high number of students.”
Christopher Benjamin Francis: “Balkanization of education. We must reach to the pinnacle of our profession irrespective of the hardship.”
Usman Sheneni Yaqub: “The people in that compound should do a meeting for all of them to vacate this house at the end of their initial payment and let’s see if it’s ghost that will be paying the rent to him, haba.”
Ovye Danjuma: “BAT should work on the issue of fuel to bring the price down, it will reflect on the price of everything in the country. On the other hand, price regulatory agency should be strengthened to regulate the prices of things in the country.”
Ishaya Mary: “The landlord is wicked. He knows that even if he increases the amount the students have no choice than to pay. He doesn’t have empathy 😔😴.”
Chukwu Nnenna Favour: “My own mud house here in Mararaba that you cannot dare to touch the wall just moved from 50–100k, no warning. One of the oldest buildings around oo, and before you talk about maintenance… nobody is maintaining anything. In fact, we the students just finished digging a well inside the lodge with our hands because of water scarcity and boom, he increased rent.”
The development has once again highlighted the accommodation crisis faced by Nigerian students, with many calling for urgent government intervention and stricter regulation of off-campus housing to protect students from arbitrary rent hikes.
