Newsworth | Danjuma Amodu | January 13, 2026
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has strongly condemned the arrest, arraignment and continued detention of 52 students from Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State, and is calling for their immediate and unconditional release.
In a statement issued Tuesday, January 13, 2026, and signed by National Public Relations Officer Comrade Adeyemi Ajasa, NANS described the actions of Edo State authorities as “unlawful, vindictive and a dangerous weaponisation of state power to suppress legitimate dissent.”
The students were arrested after staging a peaceful protest on Monday, January 12, 2026, against the rising tide of kidnappings, killings and insecurity affecting Ekpoma and surrounding areas.
Reports confirm the demonstration was orderly as participants carried placards and chanted slogans demanding improved security and governmental accountability.
NANS alleges the arrests were conducted without due process, lacked transparency and violated fundamental civil liberties. The students were arraigned before a Benin High Court, which ordered their remand at the Ubiaja Correctional Centre pending further legal proceedings. They face charges, including malicious damage and armed robbery accusations, which NANS dismisses as ‘fabricated’ and ‘oppressive’.
“NANS stands in total solidarity with the affected students and their families,” the statement read. “Peaceful protest is not a crime. Demanding safety is not terrorism. It is a patriotic act, a legitimate exercise of constitutionally guaranteed rights to assembly and expression.”
The student body warned that prolonged detention could escalate public anger, deepen mistrust in institutions, and trigger wider unrest across Nigerian campuses.
“Nigerian students deserve safety, not suppression,” NANS declared.
NANS unequivocally demands:
– The immediate and unconditional release of all 52 detained students;
– The discontinuation of all charges arising from the protest;
– An independent investigation into the conduct of police and other authorities involved in the arrests, detention and prosecution;
– Immediate cessation of using public institutions as tools to intimidate or repress law-abiding citizens exercising their fundamental rights.
Similarky, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central) also condemned the arrests, calling them “a dangerous attempt to muzzle youth voices.” She urged authorities to focus instead on tackling kidnappings and insecurity, adding. “Dialogue, not detention, is the pathway to peace and progress.”
Parents, civil society groups and human rights activists have echoed NANS’ concerns, describing the situation as emblematic of a growing trend where peaceful dissent is criminalised rather than addressed through dialogue.
As of Tuesday afternoon, neither the Edo State Police nor the Edo State Government had issued a public statement explaining the rationale behind the arrests or the charges laid against the students.
