Being a Statement of the Campaign for the Defence Of Students’ Rights (CDSR) on the Unjust Prosecution of Students of the Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma.
The Campaign for the Defence of Students’ Rights (CDSR) vehemently condemns the arrest of 52 residents of Ekpoma, most of whom are students, and some of whom are teenagers.
The arrests took place at student hostels outside the Ambrose Ali University (AAU) campus, and were in connection with protests against escalating insecurity in the community. Many students of the university joined the mass protest over the weekend, against the rampant kidnappings and killings that have made their community unsafe.
This punitive crackdown is meant to stifle legitimate outrage in the face of government neglect. The demand for a secure and dignified life is not a crime; it is a fundamental right we will never concede.
We therefore demand:
- The immediate and unconditional release of all 52 detained.
- An end to the repression of student activism and popular dissent.
- The government and its security agencies should redirect their efforts from crushing youth dissent to confronting the kidnappers and bandits, as demanded by the people of Ekpoma and across Nigeria.
We call on all students, trade unions, civil society organisations, and all working people of Nigeria to stand in solidarity with those detained, and to join their voice to the call for their release. #FreeEkpoma52.
Sgd
Kayode Somtochukwu ANI
For CDSR Coordination
