By Ene Rebecca
August 4, 2026
The Federal Government has directed vice-chancellors, rectors and provosts of tertiary institutions nationwide to dismiss any student found, after proper investigation, to have participated in kidnapping or related offences.
The directive was issued by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, during a meeting with the governing council and management of the Federal University of Lafia in Abuja. According to a statement from the minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah, Alausa also instructed institutions to reinforce their internal intelligence systems and deepen collaboration with the Department of State Services and other security agencies to enhance campus safety.
“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,” Alausa said.
The minister observed that while universities, polytechnics and colleges of education remain largely secure, recent isolated cases involving students off campus underscore the need for improved intelligence gathering and closer ties with security agencies. He revealed that he had held discussions with the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (Rtd), to formulate a coordinated approach aimed at strengthening the Safe Schools Initiative and better protecting learners across the country.
Alausa restated President Bola Tinubu’s instruction that no government institution should negotiate with or pay ransom to kidnappers, cautioning that such payments only encourage further criminal activity. He added that the Federal Government would back security projects in tertiary institutions through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund’s 2027 intervention programme, covering perimeter fencing and other essential infrastructure.
Federal University of Lafia Pro-Chancellor Lola Akande told the meeting that the institution was contending with insecurity challenges and that some students were suspected of involvement in kidnapping activities conducted outside the campus. She affirmed that the university remains opposed to the payment of ransom for the release of kidnapping victims.
The directive forms part of wider efforts to safeguard tertiary education environments amid ongoing security concerns in parts of the country.
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