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AKSU Final Year Student Sues Varsity After Being Expelled For Calling Out Governor On Facebook

It seems Nigerians will not be seeing an end to the gag on free speech and suppression of human rights soon as a final year student of the Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU) has been expelled by the institution for making a Facebook post that seemed to criticize the actions of the state governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel.

Ekpo Iniobong Isang, a final year student of Engineering, made a post on the social media platform where he called out the state governor for not redeeming his promise to give cash gifts as well as employment positions to first-class graduates of the institution.

This post led to his suspension on September 7, 2020, for “gross misconduct” and then on April 9, 2021, the school further announced through a letter signed by the registrar of the university, Mr. John E. Udo, that Iniobong has been expelled from the university as they say his actions are a “breach of the Matriculation Oath.”

The letter also directed the chief security officer to deny him access to the institution henceforth.

EKPO Iniobong Isang
AK15/ENG/AEE/013
Department of Agricultural Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Akwa lbom State University

EXPULSION FOR GROSS MISCONDUCT

At its 69th Meeting held on Wednesday, 31st March 2021, the Senate of Akwa Ibom State University deliberated on the report from the Students Disciplinary Committee. You will recall that you had appeared before the said Committee on a Case of publication of a derogatory and defamatory article on the Facebook platform about the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State and Visitor to the University.

This act constütutes a breach of the Matriculation 0ath and violation of the University rules and regulations enshrined in the Student Information Handbook. You are hereby expelled from the University for this act of gross misconduct which constitutes a breach of the Matriculation Oath.

You are required to submit to the Dean, Division of Students Affairs your student identity card and any other property of the University in your possession before your exit from the University.

Also, the Dean of your Faculty as well as the Head of your Department, are informed to ensure strict implementation of the Senate decision. The Chief Security Officer is, by a copy of this letter, directed not to allow you entry into the University Campuses.

The student, Mr. Iniobong Isang, who was left disheartened by the incident has responded to the school via a class action against it. In a letter served through the Inibehe Effiong Chambers to the Vice-Chancellor of the institution on the 18th of June, 2021, the student faulted his suspension in the first place as he was not at any time summoned to appear before any Senate committee to answer for his Facebook post.

It also stated that the University was crying more than the bereaved since the governor himself had not instituted any lawsuit against Mr. Iniobong for defamation of character. It further questioned why the institution sought to serve as the mouthpiece of the state governor.

In conclusion, the letter demanded an immediate and unconditional reinstatement of Mr. Iniobong Isang as a student of the university so that he can complete his studies with the restoration of his full rights and privileges. It also demanded a waiver on the tests and academic work he had missed as a result of the propaganda pursued by the school against him.

To add to that a sum of twenty million naira was demanded as compensation for damages – emotional, academic, and otherwise – caused Mr. Iniombong Isang by the harsh decision of the AKSU to expel him.

All demands are to be met in seven days from the time the letter is served. The letter also copied:

  • The Registrar & Secretary to Senate, Akwa Ibom State University.
  • The Dean of Student Affairs, Akwa Ibom State University.
  • The Chief Security Officer, Akwa Ibom State University.
  • The Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Akwa Ibom State University.
  • The State Coordinator, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Akwa Ibom State.
  • The Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Justice, Human Rights and Public Petitions, Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.
  • United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education.
  • Amnesty International Nigeria.
  • Civil Society Consortium on Civic Space.

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Gunmen abduct Kwara APC chairman’s wife, daughter in midnight raid

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted the wife and daughter of Alhaji Muhammad Swasun, Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The victims, identified as Hajiya Fatima and her daughter Amina, were seized on Sunday, September 7, at night when a five-man armed gang stormed the party chairman’s residence in Sakpefu.

Eyewitness accounts revealed that the attackers scaled the compound fence and opened fire indiscriminately to terrify residents before breaking into one of the rooms.

“They entered into one of the rooms where they found his wife and daughter and took them away, shooting into the air,” a party executive told reporters, adding that the chairman narrowly escaped being kidnapped himself.

Another APC member confirmed that the gunmen operated for several minutes before whisking the women to an undisclosed location.

“The bandits abducted his wife, Hajiya Fatima, and his daughter, Amina, and took them to an unknown destination,” the source explained, according to Vanguard.

The latest abduction has heightened anxiety in Patigi, a region already grappling with recurring cases of kidnapping.

Residents have repeatedly urged the government and security operatives in recent months to intensify efforts to curb the menace.

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Ace Comedian Ali Baba evicted from Victoria Island property over legal dispute

Veteran Nigerian comedian Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome, popularly known as Ali Baba, has been evicted from his luxurious, multi-million-naira property located in Victoria Island due to a court dispute.

The property, which was purchased for ₦220 million by Ali Baba, is the subject of an ownership dispute at the Federal High Court.

Amid the legal dispute, Ali Baba and his company, XQZMOI TV, were evicted from the property located at 324A Akin Ogunlewe Street.

The eviction was carried out by bailiffs of the Federal High Court following a writ of possession signed on August 15, 2025.

The property in question was initially sold to Ali Baba by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in 2021 for ₦220 million.

At the time, AMCON claimed it was recovering debts allegedly owed by Harold Expansion Industries Nigeria Limited.

But Harold Expansion disputed the debt and counterclaimed that they had already made repayments. Their lawyer, Benjamin Olayiwola Sadibo, insisted that the property was sold wrongfully.

On July 31, 2025, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court delivered a verdict that changed everything as he dismissed AMCON’s case, ruling that the corporation had failed to provide convincing evidence of the alleged debt.

The Justice stressed that AMCON did not even present a statement of account to back its claims a fatal omission for a creditor. Worse still, AMCON did not file a defence against Harold Expansion’s counterclaim, leaving the court with no choice but to side with the company.

In addition to ordering the property to be returned to the family of its original owner, the judge also imposed ₦500 million in damages on AMCON.

Ali Baba’s culpability in the case came as a result of the timing of the purchase. Records show that he purchased the property while the case was still in court, despite an existing preservation order.

He was said to have been a tenant of the property’s original owner before AMCON evicted the family and sold it.

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Police summon El-Rufai, other Kaduna ADC chieftains over alleged criminal conspiracy

Anti-Open Grazing

The Kaduna Command of the Nigerian Police has summoned former Governor of the state, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai, and other top chieftains of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In the summons letter dated September 4, 2025, the ADC members were invited for questioning over alleged incitement of public disturbance, criminal conspiracy, mischief, and causing grievous hurt.

Signed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Uzainu Abdullahi, the letter said the invited individuals are required to come and clarify the allegations against them.

“This Department is currently investigating the above-mentioned case involving the following members of your party. You are requested to come along with them to SCID to clarify allegations reported against them by the complainants on 8th September, 2025.

“Mal. Nasir El-Rufa’i, Bashir Sa’idu, Jafaru Sani, Ubaidullah Mohammed, aka 30, Nasiru Maikano, Aminu Abita, and Ahmed Rufa’i Hussaini, aka Mikiya,” the letter reads.

Sani, one of the invited members and ADC North-West Vice Chairman, told Daily Trust that he learned of the invitation through social media.

“Yes, most of us only saw the statement on social media,” he said, declining further comments.

The development followed the heated exchanges between the Kaduna State government and El-Rufai over the violence that rocked an ADC meeting in the state last week.

The government accused the former Governor of plotting to cause destabilisation in the state through provocative actions and inflammatory statements.

In a statement signed by Dr. Suleiman Shuaibu, the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, the government said it wouldn’t sit idle and watch El-Rufai plunge the state back into violence, division, and insecurity.

“This Government will not fold its arms and allow a discredited former leader, who left the state in ruins, to ignite chaos and plunge the state into another era of ethno-religious tension, insecurity, and economic stagnation,” the statement read.

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