TAKE IT BACK MOVEMENT CONDEMNS THE REMAND OF 52 AMBROSE ALLI UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN EDO STATE

PRESS STATEMENT

TAKE IT BACK MOVEMENT CONDEMNS THE REMAND OF 52 AMBROSE ALLI UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN EDO STATE

The Take It Back Movement is deeply appalled by the unlawful arrest, midnight raid, and subsequent remand of no fewer than 52 students of Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force in Edo State.

This disgraceful operation, carried out in the dead of night, involved police officers storming student hostels across Ekpoma, indiscriminately arresting young people from their rooms. This act represents a gross abuse of power, a violation of fundamental human rights, and a dangerous descent into state-sponsored intimidation.

Let it be stated clearly: peaceful protest is not a crime. The students and residents of Ekpoma exercised their constitutional right to protest against the alarming rise in kidnapping and insecurity that has turned their community into a hunting ground for criminals. Rather than going after kidnappers, the Edo State government, and the Nigerian police waste tax payers resources chasing after those protesting to end insecurity in the state. We condemn as unacceptable, the arbitrary arrests, and the weaponization of the judiciary to silence dissent

It is particularly shameful that this crackdown occurred while kidnappings continue unabated. Barely a day after the protest, another resident was abducted in Ekpoma in a brazen operation captured on CCTV. This underscores the tragic irony of a state that is swift in arresting students but impotent in confronting armed criminals terrorising its people.

We reject, in the strongest terms, the attempt to scapegoat students for the failure of government to secure lives and property. Pulling down campaign billboards in anger at worsening insecurity is not terrorism; it is a political expression borne out of frustration, neglect, and state failure.

Accordingly, the Take It Back Movement therefore demands:

1. The immediate and unconditional release of all 52 remanded students.
2. The withdrawal of all bogus and manufactured charges against them.
3. An end to the harassment, intimidation, and criminalisation of students and protesters in Edo State.
4. Immediate resignation of the Governor of Edo state over inability to secure lives and property of Edo residents.
5. Public apology from the Edo State Government, and the Nigeria Police Force for this illegal midnight operation, and punishment of the officers involved in the unlawful raids.

We warn that the continued detention of these students will only deepen public anger and resistance. Nigerians will not be intimidated into silence. History has shown that repression fuels resistance, not obedience.

The Take It Back Movement stands in full solidarity with the students of Ambrose Alli University and the people of Edo state.

Signed,
Sanyaolu Juwon
National Coordinator
Take It Back Movement, Nigeria.