“Stop Indiscriminate Remand of Ekpoma 52 Students Now, — Says Security Situation Room”
……Condemns NANS as ‘shameless hirelings’, demands review of students’ detention, ACJL amendment
The Security Situation Room has decried the “indiscriminate remand” of 52 students from Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State, describing it as a grave injustice that undermines the rule of law in Nigeria.
In a statement issued Monday, the group convener, Douglas Ogbankwa Esq., lamented the flood of complaints from relatives of the students, who were remanded in prison custody on January 11, 2026, following an ex parte order by a High Court.
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The students were arrested in connection with a protest allegedly linked to recent kidnappings in the Ekpoma axis. “The Security Situation Room is inundated by cries of relatives of the 52 students of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, who were recently remanded in prison,” the statement read.
It insisted that a thorough investigation should have preceded any mass detention, rather than a “blanket remand” of innocent and culpable alike.
Ogbankwa, reachable at douglasogbankwa@gmail.com, argued that “in the Nigerian society, the law is too weak to catch the strong and too strong to catch the weak.” He stressed that justice demands certainty of culpability through evidence on a case-by-case basis, faulting the High Court for lacking jurisdiction if it could not grant bail initially.
The group demanded an immediate police review of the remand orders to free the innocent, alongside an amendment to the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) of Edo State. They claimed the ex parte remand violates Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees fair hearing.
“A society thrives in an environment where there is a certainty of the culpability of a person by evidence before such a person can be remanded. It is injustice to remand 52 citizens in one swoop,” the statement noted, quoting: “Peace is not just the absence of war, but the presence of justice.”
The Security Situation Room also lambasted the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) as a “shameless bunch of hirelings” who “boot-lick politicians for personal gains,” urging them to champion student rights.
While advocating for the students, the group condemned violence during protests, including the forceful seizure of livestock – cows, rams, and goats – from citizens on Nigerian highways under the pretext of demonstrations.
“Justice is a four-way traffic,” it declared, insisting the innocent must not suffer for the guilty.”
Citizens are the fulcrum of society, and the disenchantment of citizens over any issues must be taken into cognisance by the authorities,” the statement added.
It highlighted that “where the rights of a citizen stops, is where the rights of another begins.”
The group linked the protests to ongoing kidnappings in Ekpoma and its environs, calling on Edo State authorities to deploy recently purchased Hilux vehicles and motorcycles for security agencies to curb the menace.
“The kidnappings precipitated the chain of events,” it noted.
No official response had been received from the Edo State Police Command, AAU management, or the state government as at press time.
Efforts to reach NANS for comments were unsuccessful.
