Angry students of the College of Health Sciences and Technology in Jega, Kebbi State, set fire to the residence of the Provost, Alhaji Haruna Saidu-Sauwa, and damaged his vehicle during a protest over alleged extortion by the college management.
The unrest stemmed from accusations that the school extorted N23 million from students regarding index registration fees for 250 graduating students.
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According to an anonymous source within the college, the dispute arose from the introduction of a new Public Health programme, initially affiliated with the Reproductive Health and Public Health Association of Nigeria.
The college reportedly merged this programme with the Department of Environmental Health to secure certification, resulting in an additional demand of N65,000 per student for index registration, on top of the N30,000 they had already paid.
Students, accusing the college of extortion, reacted violently, vandalizing vehicles and setting the provost’s residence ablaze.
Several staff members fled before security forces arrived on the scene to restore order.
In response, Provost Haruna Saidu-Sauwa denied the extortion allegations, calling them “fictitious, baseless, and mischievous.”
He refuted claims that any course duplication or extra payments were involved and dismissed the reports as the work of those trying to discredit the college.
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He emphasized that the school operates under the Treasury Single Account (TSA) system, and no individual, including himself, has access to the funds.
Saidu-Sauwa also challenged the anonymous sources cited in media reports, accusing them of spreading falsehoods and failing to provide a balanced perspective.
He urged the students and staff to remain calm while investigations into the cause of the unrest continue.
The provost added that the damage included his personal car and other college property but was relieved that no one was injured.
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The Kebbi State Police Command confirmed that normalcy had returned to the campus after security forces dispersed the protesters.
The police spokesperson, SP Nafiu Abubakar, said more information would be provided once details from the Divisional Police Officer in Jega were available.
