Nigerian Students Alliance Criticizes NSUK for Rusticating 37 Students Over WhatsApp Group Activities
The Alliance of Nigerian Students Against Neo-Liberal Attacks (ANSA) has strongly criticized the leadership of Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK) for expelling 37 students, demanding that they be reinstated immediately and unconditionally.
Recently, the university dismissed these students for one academic session, accusing them of criminal conspiracy, inciting public disturbance, and cyber-stalking due to their involvement in a WhatsApp group created to oppose the introduction of a third semester.
In a statement released on Monday, ANSA’s National Coordinator, Joshua Temitope Oladepo, described the university’s decision as “tyrannical, draconian, and undemocratic,” arguing that students should not face punishment for exercising their constitutional right to peaceful assembly.
“No student must be made to suffer for exercising their fundamental rights, as guaranteed by Section 40 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution,” the group asserted.
Additionally, ANSA called for the release of students allegedly detained for protesting against the university’s policies, emphasizing that security forces should not be used to suppress student activism.
The alliance accused NSUK’s administration of stifling student voices and undermining democratic values.
“The university administration has embarked on a campaign of repression, silencing student voices, and trampling on fundamental rights.”
“This is an assault on democracy, freedom, and education,” the statement continued.
Furthermore, the group condemned what it described as the university’s “undue interference” in student union matters and put forth several demands: the right for students to freely elect their representatives without intimidation, a reversal of arbitrary tuition fee increases, which the group argued was a means of restricting access to education, an end to student arrests and intimidation, stressing that no individual should be treated like a criminal for asserting their rights, restoration of freedom of association and peaceful assembly, rejecting any limitations on student gatherings, and immediate resolution of power supply issues on campus, asserting that students deserve a livable academic environment.
ANSA warned that failure to meet these demands could lead to nationwide student mobilization in resistance against NSUK’s actions.
“If the management continues on this dangerous path, they will face the united resistance of Nigerian students, and justice will be served,” the group concluded.
