Irate students at the College of Health Sciences and Technology in Jega, Kebbi State, have set the residence of the Provost, Alhaji Haruna Saidu-Sauwa, on fire and vandalized his vehicle in a violent protest over allegations of extortion.
The unrest, which erupted on allegations that the college management extorted N23 million from students for index registration, involved 250 graduating students. A source within the college revealed that the controversy stemmed from a recently introduced Public Health program, affiliated with the Reproductive Health and Public Health Association of Nigeria, which was merged with the Environmental Health Department. This merger reportedly led to demands for an additional N65,000 from students, on top of the N30,000 they had already paid.
Accusing the college management of extortion, students responded by stoning vehicles and setting the provost’s residence ablaze. College staff fled the scene before security forces arrived to restore order.
Provost Haruna Saidu-Sauwa denied the allegations, describing them as “fictitious and baseless,” and denied any involvement in the extortion claims. He challenged the anonymous source of the accusations to come forward, asserting that all college funds are handled through the Single Treasury Account (TSA), which he has no access to.
Saidu-Sauwa further alleged that the protest was incited by external forces aiming to discredit the college. He emphasized that no one was harmed during the protest and that investigations were ongoing to identify those responsible for the unrest.
The Kebbi State Police Command has stated that further details will be provided following a report from the Divisional Police Officer in Jega. Security personnel have since restored normalcy to the college.
