ICYMI: UNICAL Law Students Lament Dues Hike From N12,000 To N49,000, Dean Questions SaharaReporters’ Right To Probe Increment

By CrossRiverWatch Admin

The sudden increase, according to students, has placed a heavy financial burden on them, especially as no student leadership currently exists in the faculty to challenge the development.

Students of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, Cross River State have expressed outrage over a sharp increase in their faculty dues, which they say have risen from N12,000 to N49,000 within the space of one academic year.

This followed a memo issued on April 16, 2025, by the Faculty Officer, directing all incoming and returning Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry students to make several mandatory payments into specified bank accounts.

The breakdown of the fees includes N4,000 as Faculty dues, N20,000 for Development Levy, N6,000 for Departmental dues, N5,000 each for Law Journal and Law Dinner, N2,500 for LAWSAN dues, and N1,000 for the Faculty Handbook—bringing the total to N49,000.

The sudden increase, according to students, has placed a heavy financial burden on them, especially as no student leadership currently exists in the faculty to challenge the development.

A student who spoke to SaharaReporters, said: “Our dues were N12,000. And in just One year, it has increased to N40,000.

“Today they sent this memo that we will be paying N49,000. Just last semester, we paid N40,000 as Faculty dues. Now, it has increased to N49,000, almost N50,000, in just a few months. This is what we are facing in the Faculty of Law because we don’t have a president.”

Efforts to get clarification from the faculty management were met with hostility.

When contacted, the Dean of the Faculty, Dr Michael Otu, questioned the authority of the reporter to inquire about the dues.

“In what capacity are you speaking to me? Who are you? What do you want? Are you questioning the University of Calabar for a fee increase?

“Does the institution have no right to do what it wants? If you want to speak to us, you can come over and prove to us that you are a journalist and then ask your question,” he said.