PRESS STATEMENT — STOP THE BLOODSHED: NIGERIAN STUDENTS ARE UNDER SIEGE, WE DEMAND IMMEDIATE ACTION TO SECURE OUR CAMPUSES, HOSTELS — CSYR
CAMPAIGN FOR STUDENTS’ AND YOUTH’S RIGHTS (CSYR)
The Campaign for Students and Youth Rights (CSYR) is alarmed and outraged by the wave of armed robbery and kidnapping attacks that have swept through Nigerian tertiary institutions in recent weeks, most recently at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, and the Federal University of Lafia (FULAFIA), Nasarawa State.
These are not isolated incidents. They are the latest chapters in a long, painful pattern of insecurity that Nigerian students and working people have been forced to endure for years, with little sign that the institutions and authorities responsible for their protection are treating the crisis with the urgency it demands.
At about 2:00 a.m., it was reported that armed men carrying machetes and knives invaded the female hostel at ATBU's Gubi Campus, forcing entry into more than ten rooms. Students were terrorised in their own beds, and over fifty mobile phones and other valuables were stolen. This is not the first time such an attack has occurred at ATBU, as students report that similar incidents have recurred over the years without lasting solutions.
In Lafia, three female 100-level students of FULAFIA were reportedly abducted from their off-campus lodge on a Saturday night, weeks after a separate incident in which five students were kidnapped and only one was reportedly rescued. With examinations approaching, students are left to study under the weight of fear rather than focus on their education.
CSYR holds that no student anywhere in Nigeria should have to choose between pursuing an education and staying alive. A university hostel is meant to be a place of rest and safety, not a hunting ground for armed criminals. The recurrence of these attacks, at ATBU and elsewhere, is proof that promises of "improved security" without accountability and sustained investment mean nothing to the students living through the terror.
We reject the normalization of this violence. We reject the silence that often follows these incidents once the news cycle moves on. Students are not statistics; they are human beings with families, dreams, and a right to safety guaranteed to them as citizens.
CSYR calls on university managements, state governments, and federal security agencies to immediately and visibly deploy adequate security personnel to all hostels and lodges, on campus and in student-populated communities off campus, with round-the-clock patrols, particularly during high-risk night hours.
We call on the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the institutions to call congress of students to immediately address this situation and create an independent security committee of the union.
The CSYR call on the FG, State governments of the affected schools, and security personnel to secure the unconditional and safe release of the FULAFIA students, including those in Borno and elsewhere currently in captivity, and provide regular, transparent updates to their families and the student body on the efforts being made.
There is an urgent need to establish functional perimeter security at all hostels. There should be proper fencing, adequate lighting, CCTV coverage, and controlled access points, backed by real maintenance and monitoring, and not just paper policy.
An independent, transparent investigation into the ATBU hostel invasion and the FULAFIA abductions must be conducted, and the findings and remedial actions made public.
Functional, well-publicized emergency response channels such as accessible hotlines and rapid-response units that students can reach instantly during a crisis, with a demonstrated commitment to response time, must be established.
There should be provision of psychosocial support to survivors and witnesses of these attacks, recognizing the trauma inflicted extends beyond the material losses suffered.
Regular joint security briefings involving the student leadership, university management, local security agencies, and representatives from the host communities should be held, so that safety planning is not carried out in isolation from the people it is meant to protect.
CSYR stands in full solidarity with the students of ATBU's Gubi Campus and FULAFIA, and with every Nigerian student who has ever had to sleep in fear on the campus that was supposed to be their second home. We commend the courage of students who have continued to speak out, organize, and demand better treatment and protection, even in the face of trauma.
We call on NANS, NUNS, students' related bodies, left and progressive organisations, and civil society to join in this fight for a free and safe environment for students, staff, informal workers and the university community at large. An injury to one is an injury to all. The call for the collective protection of students' and working people's lives across Nigeria is our duty.
We will not relent until Nigerian campuses are made genuinely safe for the young people who fill them. Students came to learn and not to fight for their lives.
Signed by:
Campaign for Students’ and Youth’s Rights (CSYR)
Bestman Michael
National Coordinator
CAMPAIGN FOR STUDENTS’ AND YOUTH’S RIGHTS (CSYR)
The Campaign for Students and Youth Rights (CSYR) is alarmed and outraged by the wave of armed robbery and kidnapping attacks that have swept through Nigerian tertiary institutions in recent weeks, most recently at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, and the Federal University of Lafia (FULAFIA), Nasarawa State.
These are not isolated incidents. They are the latest chapters in a long, painful pattern of insecurity that Nigerian students and working people have been forced to endure for years, with little sign that the institutions and authorities responsible for their protection are treating the crisis with the urgency it demands.
At about 2:00 a.m., it was reported that armed men carrying machetes and knives invaded the female hostel at ATBU's Gubi Campus, forcing entry into more than ten rooms. Students were terrorised in their own beds, and over fifty mobile phones and other valuables were stolen. This is not the first time such an attack has occurred at ATBU, as students report that similar incidents have recurred over the years without lasting solutions.
In Lafia, three female 100-level students of FULAFIA were reportedly abducted from their off-campus lodge on a Saturday night, weeks after a separate incident in which five students were kidnapped and only one was reportedly rescued. With examinations approaching, students are left to study under the weight of fear rather than focus on their education.
CSYR holds that no student anywhere in Nigeria should have to choose between pursuing an education and staying alive. A university hostel is meant to be a place of rest and safety, not a hunting ground for armed criminals. The recurrence of these attacks, at ATBU and elsewhere, is proof that promises of "improved security" without accountability and sustained investment mean nothing to the students living through the terror.
We reject the normalization of this violence. We reject the silence that often follows these incidents once the news cycle moves on. Students are not statistics; they are human beings with families, dreams, and a right to safety guaranteed to them as citizens.
CSYR calls on university managements, state governments, and federal security agencies to immediately and visibly deploy adequate security personnel to all hostels and lodges, on campus and in student-populated communities off campus, with round-the-clock patrols, particularly during high-risk night hours.
We call on the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the institutions to call congress of students to immediately address this situation and create an independent security committee of the union.
The CSYR call on the FG, State governments of the affected schools, and security personnel to secure the unconditional and safe release of the FULAFIA students, including those in Borno and elsewhere currently in captivity, and provide regular, transparent updates to their families and the student body on the efforts being made.
There is an urgent need to establish functional perimeter security at all hostels. There should be proper fencing, adequate lighting, CCTV coverage, and controlled access points, backed by real maintenance and monitoring, and not just paper policy.
An independent, transparent investigation into the ATBU hostel invasion and the FULAFIA abductions must be conducted, and the findings and remedial actions made public.
Functional, well-publicized emergency response channels such as accessible hotlines and rapid-response units that students can reach instantly during a crisis, with a demonstrated commitment to response time, must be established.
There should be provision of psychosocial support to survivors and witnesses of these attacks, recognizing the trauma inflicted extends beyond the material losses suffered.
Regular joint security briefings involving the student leadership, university management, local security agencies, and representatives from the host communities should be held, so that safety planning is not carried out in isolation from the people it is meant to protect.
CSYR stands in full solidarity with the students of ATBU's Gubi Campus and FULAFIA, and with every Nigerian student who has ever had to sleep in fear on the campus that was supposed to be their second home. We commend the courage of students who have continued to speak out, organize, and demand better treatment and protection, even in the face of trauma.
We call on NANS, NUNS, students' related bodies, left and progressive organisations, and civil society to join in this fight for a free and safe environment for students, staff, informal workers and the university community at large. An injury to one is an injury to all. The call for the collective protection of students' and working people's lives across Nigeria is our duty.
We will not relent until Nigerian campuses are made genuinely safe for the young people who fill them. Students came to learn and not to fight for their lives.
Signed by:
Campaign for Students’ and Youth’s Rights (CSYR)
Bestman Michael
National Coordinator
