The Federal Government has told university, polytechnic and college heads across Nigeria to expel any student proven, after proper investigation, to have taken part in kidnapping or similar crimes. Education Minister Dr Tunji Alausa gave this order in Abuja, during talks with the Pro-Chancellor, Governing Council and Management of the Federal University of Lafia.
The instruction was given after some FULafia students faced suspicion of joining kidnap gangs that operate away from the school premises, making the policy an immediate test case for how campuses handle crime linked to their own students.
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Alausa maintained that schools must not allow such a crime to take root. His visit to FULafia also served as the first public setting where the dismissal rule and the no ransom rule were placed side by side, showing government wants both students and institutions held to the same standard on crime.
Dismissal as the new campus rule
Alausa said any student found culpable of planning or joining a kidnap plot has no place in school. He warned that tolerating bad conduct for too long turns it into habit, and insisted schools must never shelter criminals. To back this up, he directed institutions to build better internal intelligence systems and work closely with the Department of State Services and other security agencies, so that threats to students and staff are caught and dealt with quickly.
The minister said Nigeria’s tertiary institutions are still largely safe places, but the isolated cases tied to students show why schools need sharper intelligence gathering now, not later.
FULafia’s Pro-Chancellor, Lola Akande, confirmed some of the school’s students are suspected of involvement in kidnapping done outside the campus. She said the university stands firmly against paying ransom for anyone, arguing it only invites more crime.
No ransom stays government policy
Alausa repeated President Bola Tinubu’s standing order that no government institution should negotiate with kidnappers or pay them ransom. He said doing so only makes criminal gangs bolder and works against the fight against insecurity.
This means universities cannot buy the freedom of any student or staff member taken hostage, even as they are told to punish students who commit the same crime.
To support safer campuses, Alausa said the Federal Government will fund security projects through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund’s 2027 intervention plan. This includes money for perimeter fencing and other protective structures, and institutions have been asked to send in proposals early.
The minister also spoke about plans to widen the Energising Education Programme with the Federal Ministry of Power, to give tertiary institutions better electricity through solar power and battery storage.
FULafia’s Vice Chancellor, Prof Mohammed Isa Kida, asked for this programme to reach the university’s second campus, along with more office space and staff.
Akande also named student housing and power supply to the second campus as major problems facing the university.
Alausa disclosed he had already met Defence Minister General Christopher Musa (retd.) to build a joint plan for strengthening the Safe Schools Initiative nationwide, tying campus safety directly to the wider security effort government is running to protect students and teachers.
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