Amnesty International has urged the management of Madonna University, Elele Campus, Rivers State, to reverse the expulsion of a final-year nursing student and the suspension of 14 other 500-level students over a viral TikTok video.
The rights organisation, in a post on its X account on Thursday, described the sanctions as disproportionate and called on the university to resolve the matter through dialogue and mediation.
The students were sanctioned after a video showing nursing students dancing in a hospital waiting area, staircase and bus went viral on social media. The video was reportedly part of the “Gen Z nurses” social media challenge.
Amnesty said the sanctions could have serious consequences for the students’ academic progress and argued that they were entitled to freedom of expression, academic freedom and education.
The organisation urged the university to ensure that its disciplinary policies and procedures comply with international human rights standards, stressing the need to uphold the students’ rights to education and academic freedom.
The development has also attracted appeals from the Nigerian Universities Nursing Students’ Association and the National Association of Nigerian Students. NUNSA said it had begun discussions with relevant stakeholders to seek a review of the decision, while NANS appealed for clemency, citing the possible impact of the expulsion on the students’ academic and professional futures.
The university’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Chima Achu, had said the institution would issue an official statement on the matter.
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