IMMEDIATELY REINSTATE SUSPENDED NSUK STUDENTS

VICE-CHANCELLOR LIMAN’S REFUSAL TO REINSTATE SUSPENDED STUDENTS DESPITE THE PLEA BY THE STATE GOVENOR IS A SHOW OF VICIOUS TYRANNY

WE DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL REINSTATEMENT OF ALL SUSPENDED STUDENTS

NSUK AUTHORITIES AND THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE MUST BE MADE TO ANSWER FOR THE CRIME OF UNLAWFULLY DETAINING STUDENTS

The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) sternly condemns the refusal of the Vice-chancellor of Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), Prof. Sa’adatu Hassan Liman to reinstate the suspended students of the institution despite a plea by Governor Abdullahi Sule for her to do so. Recall that the appeal by the State governor was made on the 1st anniversary of the Vice-Chancellor and conveyed through the Personal Assistant on Social Media, Godwin Rimi. While we think that the Governor ought to have taken steps beyond a plea to the recalcitrant Vice-chancellor, we are surprised that despite this plea, the Prof. Sa’adatu Hassan Liman has set all reasons aside and refused to reinstate these innocent students who have suffered physical and emotional torment. For us, this is a show vicious tyranny and recklessness.

We demand the immediate and unconditional reinstatement of all suspended students of NSUK. The reason for their suspension, which is that they were planning a protest, is unacceptable and an affront on their fundamental rights to free expression and assembly.

In any case, the fact is that the planned protest never took place. So, the official basis for their suspension is flawed. Shekwogaza Godiya Sanda, Timothy Manasseh, Asan Ukeyima and others have been wrongly suspended Since December 9, 2024. Notably, before the suspension, many of these students had spent days languishing in police cells on the order of the school authorities.

This is a clear revelation of the atrocities of Sa’adatu Hassan Liman, the Vice-Chancellor who is misnamed as ‘sweet mother of NSUK’ but unleashes terrible policies on students. For instance, she cancelled the last students’ union election, leaving students without any democratic representation. Also, she introduced an exploitative policy of forcing students to pay N5000 for each failed course under the dubiousness of a ‘third semester’ programme. It was this policy that students planned to organize a protest against in August, 2024, before she handed the student activists over to the Police for arrest and torture.

We demand that all those culpable in the arrest and torture be made to answer for their crimes. We urge the state Governor to go beyond pleading with the Vice-chancellor, who has demonstrated an unimaginable trait of inhumanity, to concretely intervening in the issue. All the affected students must be recalled immediately.

Ogunjimi Isaac

Deputy National Coordinator

Adaramoye Michael Lenin

National Mobilization Officer

Email: [email protected]