According to the group, the students were merely exercising their democratic rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and protest when security forces moved against them.
The Save Public Education Campaign (SPEC) has condemned the arrest and continued detention of 52 students of Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State, describing the action as unlawful, repressive, and a grave violation of constitutional rights.
In a press statement issued on Tuesday, jointly signed by Convener and Co-Convener of SPEC, Comrades Vivian Bello and Dimeji Macaulay respectively, the group said the students were arrested while peacefully protesting against rising insecurity and cases of kidnapping within the Ekpoma community and its environs.
According to the group, the students were merely exercising their democratic rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and protest when security forces moved against them.
“These students, who were duly exercising their democratic and fundamental rights to organize, speak out and assemble, have been met with gross violence for demanding functional and adequate security,” SPEC stated.
The group described the arrests as arbitrary and illegal, alleging that the detained students were denied access to legal representation, in violation of both constitutional provisions and basic human rights standards.
“Reports around the development so far indicate that the students were arbitrarily arrested, detained and denied access to legal representation, in gross violation of both their fundamental rights as well as constitutional provisions,” the statement said.
SPEC warned that the incident represents a dangerous trend toward the militarisation of educational spaces in Nigeria.
“This authoritarian clampdown in clear violation of legal provisions and due process is as worrisome as it is unacceptable,” the group added, noting that it reflects “a dangerous escalation of the ongoing militarisation of educational spaces in Nigeria.”
In particularly strong language, SPEC said it holds the Commissioner of Police in Edo State, CP Monday Agbonika, and the Commander of the 4 Mechanized Brigade, Brigadier General Ahmed Olatunboju Balogun, responsible for the safety of the detained students.
“We wish to make it clear that we hold the Commissioner of Police, Edo State, CP Monday Agbonika, and the Commander of Mechanized 4 Brigade, Brigadier General Ahmed Olatunboju Balogun, responsible for any harm that comes to the students,” the group declared.
The campaign also referenced a widely circulated video allegedly showing soldiers firing on unarmed protesters.
“The shocking video of the shooting of unarmed protesters by soldiers under the watch of the said commander, as captured and broadcast on social media, is strongly noted,” SPEC said.
Reiterating its position, the group stressed that universities should not be treated as military zones.
“Public universities are not military barracks, and students are not subjects to be treated draconically,” the statement read.
SPEC emphasized that the right to protest is guaranteed under the Nigerian Constitution and reinforced by international human rights conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory.
“Any attempt to criminalize students for speaking out against fees, exploitation, decay in infrastructure, maladministration, or any other unsavoury situation facing them is nothing short of an assault on democracy and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the group said.
The organization issued five key demands, including the immediate and unconditional release of all detained students.
“No student should spend one more minute in detention for exercising their fundamental rights,” SPEC insisted.
Other demands include an independent investigation into the roles of the police, military, and university authorities; an end to harassment and profiling of student activists nationwide; full respect for academic freedom; and urgent reforms to address insecurity, poor funding, welfare concerns, and infrastructural decay in public universities.
Declaring solidarity with the affected students and their families, SPEC called on civil society organizations, labour unions, human rights groups, and the media to speak out.
“Nigeria cannot claim to value education while intimidating and brutalizing the very students it should be empowering,” the statement said. “A nation that criminalizes its youth has undoubtedly declared war on its own future.”
SPEC concluded by calling for the release of the detained students.