By Peter Oyedele

A civil society organisation, the Youth Arise Movement (YAM), has strongly condemned the arrest and detention of 48 students who staged a peaceful protest in Bauchi on Tuesday, demanding improved security following repeated armed robbery attacks in their academic community.

According to reports, the students took to the streets to decry the growing wave of violent crimes allegedly occurring within and around their campus environment. Their demonstration, described as peaceful and orderly, was aimed at drawing urgent attention from authorities to what they say is a worsening security situation endangering their lives and disrupting their education.

However, rather than addressing the students’ concerns, security operatives reportedly responded with force, dispersing the protest with teargas and arresting 48 of the demonstrators.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the National Coordinator of YAM, Comrade Babatunde Ademola, said the students’ rights to protest and express their grievances are protected by the Nigerian Constitution, adding that the forceful response was a violation of democratic norms.

“Their actions were peaceful, organized, and lawful,” Ademola said. “The decision by law enforcement to respond with force and arrest is not only disproportionate — it is an abuse of power that must be condemned by all who believe in justice and the rule of law.”

He stressed that the right to protest is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution and must not be trampled upon, particularly when students are raising concerns over their safety.

“It is not a crime to demand safety. It is not a crime to call for justice,” the statement continued. “This heavy-handed response to the legitimate expression of student voices is not only unacceptable but also a direct assault on their constitutional rights.”

The group demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all 48 detained students, the dropping of any charges against them, and an independent investigation into the security lapses that prompted the protest in the first place.

“We will not be silent while young voices are suppressed,” Ademola said. “If institutions meant to protect citizens fail to ensure their safety, they must not criminalize peaceful demands for protection.”

YAM also called on other civil society organizations, academic institutions, and human rights groups to join in demanding justice and accountability, emphasizing solidarity with the arrested students, their families, and the broader student community.

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