Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago, has threatened to revoke the Certificate of Occupancy of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, over a dispute concerning the institution’s Bosso Campus.
The governor reportedly made the threat on Thursday in Abuja during a meeting held in the Education Minister’s conference room, where representatives of the university’s governing council and the Niger State Government met to resolve the dispute over the proposed handover of the Bosso campus to the state government.
The President of the university’s Alumni Association, Prof. Shola Solomon, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday on the outcome of the meeting between the two parties.
“The meeting started about 5:30 pm on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at the Minister’s conference room.
“The Vice-Chancellor led the delegation of principal officers, representatives of staff unions on campus, and the Alumni Association.
“The Vice-Chancellor was asked to speak first and took permission to play a nine-minute video showing activities currently taking place at the Bosso campus. The video was recorded the same morning and effectively nullified the governor’s claim that the Bosso campus had been lying fallow for 15 years.
“The Vice-Chancellor also tendered payment vouchers and receipts showing payment in two instalments amounting to N2.8m for the outright purchase of the then Government Teachers College, Minna, which served as the take-off site for FUT Minna in 1983.
“However, the Niger State Government could not present any document supporting the 40-year lease agreement earlier claimed by Governor Bago at different fora,” Solomon stated.
According to him, when the governor was invited to speak, he threatened to revoke the Certificate of Occupancy presented by the university.
“He threatened fire and brimstone, saying that the C of O presented by the university had expired and that he would revoke it, including that of the Gidan Kwano campus. He also said that if he wished, he could cut the power line supplying electricity to the university,” Solomon added.
That the Niger State Government had attempted to take over the Bosso campus of FUT Minna for the use of medical students of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, claiming that the lease agreement for the land had expired.
However, the university authorities reportedly resisted the move after getting wind of the planned eviction, insisting that the institution remained a fully functional Federal Government establishment and that the land had been purchased outright from the state.
The dispute triggered protests by the university’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the National Association of Nigerian Students, who condemned the government’s attempt to take over the campus.
ASUU described the move as an unlawful attempt to seize the university’s Bosso campus, warning that staff and students would resist the action if the state government proceeded with the plan.
Staff and students subsequently staged protests within the campus, led by ASUU and the Student Union Government, describing the move as an attempt at an unlawful land grab.
The university’s ASUU Chairperson, Prof. Lukman Oyewobi, condemned the plan and warned that the university community would not watch bulldozers destroy their heritage.
He revealed that state government officials had already visited the site to begin the acquisition process without the university’s consent, which prompted the emergency protest.
Oyewobi said the campus houses over 25 research centres, science laboratories, staff quarters and places of worship, stressing that the facility was far from abandoned.
He warned that any attempt to enforce the takeover would disrupt academic activities and affect thousands of students, staff and research programmes.
The ASUU chairman also faulted the state government’s claim that the campus was under a temporary lease, noting that the Federal Government had paid N2.8m in 1983 for full ownership of the property.
According to him, the campus was originally a Roman Catholic missionary school handed to the state before being sold to FUT Minna.
“It is a vital federal asset, not idle land for political grabs,” he said.
The union called for the intervention of the Federal Government to halt what it described as a forceful takeover, warning that it constituted an assault on academic freedom.
Oyewobi also urged the National Assembly, the National Universities Commission and civil society organisations to protect the campus.
He called on Bago, who is an honorary doctorate recipient of the university, to reconsider the move.
“Why target a thriving university when Niger, Nigeria’s largest state by landmass, has plenty of alternatives? The government is prioritising short-term political calculations over national development. It is only in the jungle that ‘might is right’. Niger State and Nigeria are not jungles,” he said.
Also reacting, the Dean of Student Affairs, Prof. Bashir Ganiyu, questioned where students would relocate to if the eviction plan was implemented.
“With a student population of about 25,000 and accommodation for only about 5,000 across all campuses, the state lacks empathy. Where do they want these students to go? Are they going to chase them into the streets?” he asked.
A 500-level student and Vice-President of the Student Union, Mohamed Ramas, also expressed concern over the eviction notice.
“We don’t have alternatives. Where do they want us to go? To be sleeping on the streets? We are ladies. They cannot toy with our safety. I wonder how leaders who are parents themselves could authorise such a reckless eviction,” she said.
The student leaders noted that Niger State has the largest landmass in Nigeria, yet the government was targeting a fully functional federal campus instead of developing a new site.
Solomon later disclosed that the dispute was eventually reframed during the Abuja meeting.
“It is instructive to state that when we got to the meeting, it was no longer about taking over the Bosso campus as property of the Niger State Government. It became a discussion on collaboration and sharing of facilities to enable the 300-level medical students of IBB University, Lapai, to continue their studies.
“The governor concluded by asking the Vice-Chancellor if anything was wrong with sharing facilities at the Bosso campus. The Vice-Chancellor responded that he does not have the authority to make such a decision.
“The minister then directed that the governing council should meet with the Niger State Government team to work out modalities for facility sharing so that the medical students can continue their studies. The terms will be clearly stated,” Solomon added.
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