The Federal Government has directed universities and other tertiary institutions across Nigeria to dismiss students found guilty of involvement in kidnapping or related criminal activities.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, gave the directive to Vice-Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts of tertiary institutions, stressing that any student found culpable after due investigation should have no place in the nation’s higher institutions.
Alausa also directed heads of tertiary institutions to strengthen intelligence gathering on their campuses and collaborate more closely with the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies to improve the safety of students.
The minister spoke during a meeting with the leadership of the Federal University of Lafia in Abuja, where he said recent incidents involving students outside campus environments underscored the need for stronger security measures.
“We have a collective responsibility to protect every Nigerian child, from primary school to tertiary education. While our campuses remain safe, we must continue to strengthen intelligence gathering and work closely with our security agencies to ensure that students are protected both within and outside our institutions,” he said.
Alausa warned that students found to have participated in kidnapping should not be allowed to remain in tertiary institutions.
“If you tolerate bad behaviour for too long, it becomes a culture. Any student found culpable, after due investigation, of planning or participating in the kidnapping of fellow students has no place in our tertiary institutions. Such individuals must be dismissed,” he stated.
The minister also reiterated the Federal Government’s opposition to negotiating with kidnappers or paying ransom, warning that such practices could encourage further criminal activities.
Alausa disclosed that the government plans to support campus security projects, including perimeter fencing, through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund’s 2027 intervention programme.
He also said efforts were underway to expand the Energising Education Programme by increasing solar power generation and battery storage capacity in tertiary institutions.
Earlier, the Pro-Chancellor of the Federal University of Lafia, Lola Fibisola Akande, disclosed that some students of the institution were suspected of involvement in kidnapping activities outside the campus.
She also identified inadequate hostel accommodation, electricity supply and insecurity as some of the major challenges facing the university.
The Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Mohammed Isa Kida, commended the minister’s education reforms and appealed for the extension of the Energising Education Programme to the university’s second campus.
