The federal government has directed vice-chancellors, rectors and provosts of tertiary institutions nationwide to expel any student found guilty of kidnapping or related criminal activities after due investigation.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, issued the directive on Tuesday during a meeting with the Pro-Chancellor, Governing Council and Management of the Federal University of Lafia (FULafia) in Abuja.
Alausa also instructed heads of tertiary institutions to strengthen intelligence gathering on campuses and deepen collaboration with the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies to improve student safety.
He said that although universities, polytechnics and colleges of education remained largely secure, recent incidents involving students off campus underscored the need for stronger surveillance and closer cooperation with security agencies.
“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,” Alausa said.
The minister warned that students involved in planning or participating in the kidnapping of fellow students had no place 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 said.
Alausa also reiterated the Federal Government’s stance against negotiating with kidnappers or paying ransom, warning that such actions only embolden criminal groups.
He disclosed that the government would support security infrastructure, including perimeter fencing, through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) 2027 intervention programme.
The minister further announced plans to expand the Energising Education Programme by increasing solar power generation and battery storage across 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 carried out off campus.
She identified inadequate hostel accommodation, unreliable electricity supply and insecurity as some of the major challenges facing the university.
The Vice-Chancellor, 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.
