By Caleb Jacob
Three students from Bayero University Kano (BUK) who were among the 21 suspects allegedly detained in Kano during a joint security operation on 8th March, 2025 are demanding justice.
The operation involving the Department of State Services, police, army, Nigerian Civil Defence Corps, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, among others, occurred in the Danbare axis, Kumbotso Local Government Area.
Grassroots Parrot reports that the students pleaded not guilty. They were raided at a local food joint and thrown in a black maria alongside other suspects picked up at different spots, including their residence.
The three student detainees are Shamshudeen Ahmed, a final-year student of the Department of Geography; Jonathan Ochola Adama, (300 level) Department of Early Childhood Education; and Zephaniah Adam, (200 level) International Relations, BUK.
One of the students, Zephaniah Adam, narrated that he had stepped out to buy food at a nearby joint some meters from his residence around 10:15 pm when the security forces stormed the area.
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“A group of JTF [Joint Task Force] officers stormed the area with over 15 vehicles. They started raiding the place and picked us up along with others without searching anyone or asking any questions,” he recounted.
Adam said they were transported to Talhudu divisional police station, where they were allegedly detained without formal charges.
“They also went to other houses to pick up other students and other people they had the information on. They went to one house and picked three students there.
“They found two BUK students with exhibit (weed) in their house. So, after picking those people, we left the area around past twelve. They kept us at anti-daba and left for another operation.” He said.
Adam lamented further that despite presenting their university identification cards and informing authorities they had examinations scheduled, they remained in custody from Saturday night through Wednesday.
For Shamshudeen Ahmed, he had prepared rice and beans at home to break his fast but needed to buy awara (a local delicacy) to complement his meal when the incident occurred.
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“We were sitting when they came. An officer held me by the waist and dragged me. There is still an iron in my fractured leg, so I told him to stop dragging me, and he was somehow soft and ordered me to the car.”
Ahmed was initially prevented from calling his friend to retrieve his student identity card during the arrest.
He, however, managed to make the call while in the vehicle, and the card was brought to the scene. Despite this, his friends were not allowed to identify him.
Students Locked Up for Four Days, Miss Exams
Ahmed narrated that he was locked up amongst others for four days and treated like an animal in the cell and prison. He missed his final exams despite his several appeal.
“I lost the exam, so I just cried to myself. But later I tell myself not to worry. Some people are spilling twice, some people are losing, but it’s just a year for me.” He said.
According to Zephaniah Adam, “We missed our Monday exams, Tuesday exams, and Wednesday exams. Some final-year students who were detained will now have to repeat the academic year.”
“They kept us at the cell in Anti-Daba (Talhudu) for four days, and it was on the fourth day we were asked to give a statement for profiling, and they found that we were innocent, but they told me to just go back,” he narrated.
Students Charged for Cultism, Detained at Goron Dutse Prison
Thereafter, on Wednesday, March 12, the detainees were allegedly photographed alongside those found with exhibits including hard drugs and weapons, despite having no contraband in their possession.
They were then taken to a court located within the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport without legal representation and allegedly charged with conspiracy, cultism, and public nuisance.
“They took us to court without any lawyer. The allegations against us were conspiracy, cultism, and conducting public nuisance. We all pleaded not guilty because we were found with nothing,” Ahmed stated.
The judge, however, ordered the detainees to be held at Goron Dutse Correctional Center, Kano, pending further investigation, with a follow-up court date set for Tuesday, 18 March 2025.
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At the maximum prison, the students recounted how they were stashed with about 40 convicts in a cell.
They described the harsh conditions in the detention center, including poor hygiene and food quality.
“We were more than 40 that slept in a row like fish. You see the way they used to arrange fish. That’s how they arranged all of us.” Jonathan Adama lamented.
Amongst the six students arrested, incriminating substances were reportedly found on three who were picked up at their residence.
According to the students, others found with a quantity of hard drugs “were taken to the NDLEA’s custody.”
“One bailed himself out with N100,000, then the other two bailed themselves out with N150,000.” They alleged.
Shamshudeen, Jonathan, and Zephaniah were eventually released from Goron Dutse prison after intervention from the university officials and family members.
They claim that representatives of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) negotiated the release of students detained for not having contraband.
When contacted, the SUG President, Abdulahi Usman Baba, confirmed that the students had been released on bail but insisted that no money was paid before securing their release.
Usman did not also disclose the conditions of their bail.
However, he mentioned plans to formally appeal to the school on behalf of the students who missed their exams.
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“We are going to write formally to the school that our students were arrested and have missed exams—the school should kindly intervene,” he said.
Meanwhile, our correspondent reached out to the spokesperson of Bayero University Kano, Lamara Garba, who declined to comment on the matter.
Despite these interventions, the students are demanding justice, recalling the dehumanizing conditions they were made to endure at the Anti-Daba custody and the Goron Dutse prison.
The court has, however, granted bail to the remaining 15 individuals who were apprehended at the food location and subsequently arraigned, with bail set at N20,000 for each person.
One of the BUK students confirmed this to our correspondent on Friday, 20 March, 2025.
Kano Govt. Defends Recent Raids, Pledges to Intervene for Innocent Students
Meanwhile, the Kano State Joint Task Force Committee on Peace Restoration and Youth Rehabilitation has defended its recent actions, stating that all raids were based on credible intelligence.
The committee, comprising representatives from the army, the DSS, NSCDC, the police, and local vigilante groups, emphasized that its operations strictly targeted known criminal hotspots.
The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Ibrahim Waiya, who doubles as the spokesperson for the committee, spoke in an exclusive interview with our correspondent.
According to Waiya, “The committee doesn’t really act except on credible intelligence that is actually provided by the security agencies.”
He acknowledged that mistakes could happen but insisted they were unintentional.
“It must have been a human mistake, but not actually intentional,” he said, reiterating that the targeted locations were criminal hotspots.
“I really wonder if students who are actually very much innocent will be involved in this kind of thing, except that could be by accident,” said Waiya.
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He further emphasized that if any arrested individuals were truly students with no criminal ties, the committee would not proceed with prosecution.
“If they are really students, then there is no reason why the committee would go ahead to prosecute them,” he added.
Responding to claims that some of the affected students had missed their exams, the commissioner called on anyone with relevant details to come forward.
“If you have details of those affected, please provide them. Reach out to me, and let me have the information,” he stated. “I assure you that the committee will intervene, including reaching out to the university authorities.”
According to him, the raids were part of ongoing efforts to dismantle crime hubs associated with drug abuse and trafficking in the state.