Students at the College of Health Sciences and Technology, Jega, Kebbi State, have set the residence of the Provost, Alhaji Haruna Saidu-Sauwa, on fire and vandalized his vehicle in protest against alleged extortion by the college management.
The unrest began after claims that the college extorted ₦23 million from 250 graduating students for index registration under a newly introduced Public Health program. According to a source within the college, the students were initially charged ₦30,000 for registration, but an additional ₦65,000 was later demanded. This caused outrage, leading to a violent protest where the students stoned vehicles and set the provost’s home on fire.
A source from the college, speaking anonymously, explained that the controversy stemmed from the merging of the Public Health program with the Department of Environmental Health to secure certification. This led to the increased charges.
In response, the Provost, Alhaji Haruna Saidu-Sauwa, denied the allegations, calling them “fictitious, baseless, and mischievous.” He said, “I challenge the person to come clean in his allegations of student extortion and his claim of course duplications.” He emphasized that the school operates with a Single Treasury Account, and neither he nor the management has access to the funds.
Saidu-Sauwa further accused an unnamed source of spreading false stories to discredit the college, urging the students and staff to remain calm while investigations are conducted. He added, “We are happy no one was hurt, and we are working with security personnel to identify the organizers of the protest.”
Normalcy has since been restored at the college after security forces intervened.
The Kebbi State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Nafiu Abubakar, confirmed the incident and stated that more details would be provided after receiving further information from the Divisional Police Officer in Jega.
