The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is considering allowing students to squat with peers due to a severe shortage of hostel accommodation, as over 30,000 students compete for roughly 8,000 bed spaces. The institution has also pledged strict sanctions against racketeers exploiting the crisis.
The Dean of Students Affairs (DSA), Prof. Musa Obalola, told reporters that the university has established disciplinary measures against students who illegally sell or resell hostel beds and squatting spaces.
“We have several stipulated sanctions for students who are caught selling either bed spaces or squatting spaces. The minimum punishment is one or two semesters’ suspension,” he said, noting that offenders face formal hearings by the Student Disciplinary Board.
Prof. Obalola emphasized that some students’ actions deny others access to accommodation:
“Some students don’t consider the circumstances surrounding accommodation. Why deny your fellow students from bidding, keep the accommodation you got, and still go ahead to bid and sell?”
The university plans to publish the names of students involved in racketeering. It also aims, with government approval, to partner with private developers to construct new hostels, adding over 7,000 bed spaces within the next 24 months.
Currently, Honours Hall, a female hostel with 511 beds, is unavailable due to renovation. Many students have reportedly paid N240,000–N300,000 for a bed space or N180,000 for a squatting spot.
Late registration and administrative delays have forced freshers to commute from home, spending over N5,000 daily on transport. Some 200 Level students in the Department of Quantity Surveying missed the first hostel balloting due to incomplete course registration.
To address the situation, UNILAG has opened another round of hostel balloting for eligible 200–500 Level students. According to the DSA office bulletin released on January 5, 2026:
- Eligibility: Students who have completed 1st semester registration within their regular program duration.
- Application Window: Opens 2:00 p.m., January 6, 2026, closes when temporary beds are filled.
- Allocation: Bed spaces will be randomly assigned among eligible applicants.
- Payment Deadline: January 9, 2026.
- Movement into Halls: January 13, 2026.
This new initiative, labeled Temporary Hostel Accommodation (Squatting), aims to mitigate the extreme shortage and ensure students can access lecture sessions without undue hardship.
The university continues to balance student welfare, fair allocation, and discipline, highlighting the ongoing struggle to manage infrastructure gaps and prevent racketeering in Nigeria’s top institutions.
