The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) National Headquarters has appealed to Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun and Commissioner for Police in the State, Bode Ojajuni to rescue the abducted students of Gateway ICT polytechnic, Sapade.
The National leadership of the students also declared a mass peaceful protest across Ogun State, issuing a strict 72-hour ultimatum to the state government and security agencies to address the escalating wave of violent crime targeting tertiary institution students.
The NANS Secretary – General, Comrade Oladimeji Uthman while speaking at nla news conference held at the State secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Abeokuta, the State capital, warned that students across the state have been pushed to the wall, stressing that off-campus host communities have become hotbeds for armed robbery, kidnapping, violent assaults, and cult-related activities, leaving students living in perpetual fear.
He further highlighted recent violent occurrences, including the abduction of five students from Gateway ICT Polytechnic, Saapade (GAPOSA), and the murder of a female student, Ahmed Sekinat, during a robbery attack at D.S. Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic, Itori. Another student who sustained gunshot injuries during the Itori attack is currently receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta.
According to NANS leadership, the criminal incidents are widespread rather than isolated, affecting multiple institutions across the state. Hostels surrounding Tai Solarin Federal University of Education (TASFUED), Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Federal Polytechnic Ilaro (FPI), and Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic (AAP), Ijebu-Igbo, have all faced repeated security breaches.
Expressing deep frustration, the student body disclosed that prior efforts to engage security leadership in Ogun State were ignored. NANS had formally requested strategic meetings with local security chiefs to collaborate on lasting solutions, but the authorities failed to grant the leadership an audience, a response NANS characterized as indifference to student safety.
Despite these grievances, NANS commended the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Riliwan Disu, for deploying an operational police aircraft to conduct aerial surveillance and boost intelligence-gathering in the state. The group also acknowledged Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, for requesting federal security reinforcements to secure the rescue of the captive students.
However, NANS stressed that tactical support must translate into immediate, measurable actions. The 72-hour ultimatum, effective from Wednesday, August 5, 2026, demands the unconditional release of the five kidnapped GAPOSA students, as well as the immediate arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators behind the abduction and the fatal shooting at D.S. Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic.
Alongside the rescue demand, NANS outlined specific conditions for the state government and security apparatus. These include sending a high-powered government delegation to pay a condolence visit to the family of the deceased student, Ahmed Sekinat, providing full care for the hospitalized victim, and immediately establishing the Ogun Security Agencies–Student Leaders Relations Forum (OGSASLRF).
The students apex body also demanded the immediate deployment of the Ogun State Anti-Violent Crime Team across all campus corridors, increased ground patrols, and the establishment of permanent security posts in high-risk student residential areas to restore safety across host communities.
“NANS warned that failure to satisfy these demands within the 72-hour window will trigger sustained, statewide mass action”, he said
The leadership therefore called on Students’ Union Governments, staff unions including ASUU, ASUP, COEASU, and NASU, alongside the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and civil society groups, to unite for the upcoming peaceful protest, adding that the official convergence point will be announced shortly.
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