Alabama State University is being sued by its Nigerian students for unnecessary charges when, in fact, the government has already paid for their education. The students also accused the school for treating them "like animals."
The Daily Beast reported that 41 Nigerian nationals, several of whom have since graduated from Alabama State University, have sued the college for overcharging them for books and meals. They also accused the school of enrolling them in classes that they never took, among others, because of the fact that they were black foreigners.
The Alabama State University is listed as one of the 100 Historic Black Colleges and Universities in America. The students received full scholarships for four years of education from the Nigerian government's fund.
"They called us cash cows," Jimmy Iwezu, an ASU alum, said. "I'm a black man and I'm proud to be black, but I felt discriminated against."
Apparently, the school intentionally mismanaged millions from the scholarship fund which was paid in advance. Iwezu added that Alabama State University had proclaimed autonomy over the seven-figure sum paid by the Nigerian government in 2013 for the 41 students.
Attorney Julian McPhillips is representing the Nigerian students. He brought the lawsuit to court for the second time. The first attempt in April was dismissed. According to Quartz, the first suit was dismissed without prejudice in July since it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction.
The students alleged that they were ripped off by ASU "because of their Nigerian national origin," as per the lawsuit. It was also noted that the students were hammered with exorbitant "billing" and that they weren't "being treated like other students" when the school increased the price of books, room and board.
"They tell me, 'You're a resident of the scholarship,'" Iwezu added. "So they think they can do whatever they want with the money [Nigeria] gives them... I'm not going to let them treat us like animals."
