Civil Society Slams Arrest of 48 Student Protesters in Bauchi

A civil society organization, the Youth Arise Movement (YAM), has strongly condemned the arrest of 48 students of the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, who were protesting against persistent armed robbery attacks on their campus. The group has called for the students’ immediate and unconditional release, arguing that they were exercising their legitimate right to protest.

The protest, which took place on Tuesday, was sparked by a violent armed robbery at a male students’ hostel, where valuables were stolen and some students were injured. Students, expressing what the school management later termed “justifiable frustration,” took to the streets to demand improved security from the institution and the government.

However, the protest turned chaotic, leading to the intervention of the Bauchi State Police Command. According to the Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakil, the command arrested 48 protesters and 16 suspected robbers, claiming that the arrests were necessary to contain a security breach caused by “unidentified hoodlums” who had hijacked the demonstration.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Convener of the Youth Arise Movement, Babatunde Ademola, accused the police of a “disproportionate response” and an “abuse of power.” He insisted that the students’ protest was peaceful and lawful and that their only crime was demanding safety and accountability.

“These students were exercising their democratic right to speak out against the menace of gang-armed robbery on their campus,” Ademola said. “The decision by law enforcement to respond with force and arrest is not only disproportionate, it is an abuse of power that must be condemned by all who believe in justice and the rule of law.”

The group is demanding that all charges against the students be dropped and that the police issue a public apology. They also called for an urgent investigation into the repeated robbery incidents on campus. In the wake of the unrest, the management of the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, has ordered the indefinite closure of the school, telling students to vacate the campus within two hours of the directive.