NANS Demands Reversal of University of Port Harcourt Students' Union Dissolution

NANS, through a statement signed over the weekend by National President Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, has condemned the University of Port Harcourt's decision to dissolve its Students' Union Government, Hall Representatives, and all other student union activities, calling for an immediate reversal and describing the action as a breach of students' democratic rights.

The dissolution was communicated through a memo from the university's Office of the Dean of Student Affairs. The memo, according to NANS, declared the immediate dissolution of the union, required union executives to present themselves before an investigation panel on invitation, and directed them to turn over union properties, documents, and financial records promptly.

The University of Port Harcourt Students Union dissolved NANS 2026 response rests on a distinction that is legally and procedurally important: the difference between investigating misconduct and dissolving an elected body without due process.

NANS was careful to acknowledge that the university has the right to investigate allegations against student leaders. What it contests is the method.

"The Students' Union is a democratically elected body established to represent the interests and welfare of students and should not be dissolved through an administrative directive without clearly stated allegations, a proper investigation, and an opportunity for the affected officials to defend themselves," the organisation said.

That is a fair procedural argument. Dissolution before investigation reverses the burden. It punishes before findings are made. And it removes the representative body of an entire student population based on an administrative memo, not a disciplinary outcome.

NANS also raised specific concerns about the investigation panel described in the university's memo, questioning its independence, fairness, and transparency. Requiring executives to appear before a panel while simultaneously dissolving the institution they lead and ordering the handover of all its assets creates a dynamic where the accused are being processed by the same authority that has already determined their body should cease to exist. That is not how a fair process works.

The student body's demands are specific and reasonable.

It wants the dissolution order halted immediately. It wants the university to publicly state the reasons behind the decision. It wants the affected student leaders to be given a fair hearing before any sanctions are imposed. And it wants an independent investigating panel, not one whose neutrality is in question.

NANS also issued a direct warning to the university: no intimidation, no victimisation, no disciplinary action against student leaders for performing their representative functions.

"We are not opposed to accountability. We maintain that any student leader found guilty of financial misconduct or any other offence should be sanctioned in line with due process," NANS said.

That framing is important. It pre-empts the university's likely response that this is about accountability, not suppression. NANS is saying: accountability is fine, what you have done here is not accountability, it is administrative overreach.

University administrations in Nigeria dissolving student unions is not a new phenomenon. It tends to happen in one of two scenarios: when students have been engaged in activism that the administration finds inconvenient, or when there are genuine financial or governance concerns that are used as a pretext for ending union activity that the institution was already uncomfortable with.

The University of Port Harcourt has not publicly explained which scenario applies here, and the absence of clearly stated allegations in the memo is itself part of NANS's complaint.

Student unions, whatever their imperfections, are training grounds for civic engagement. They are the spaces where young Nigerians learn to organise, advocate, represent, and be held accountable within institutional structures. Dissolving them without due process, regardless of the specific grievance, sends a signal about how institutions view student agency that extends well beyond one campus.

NANS said it was engaging relevant stakeholders and would pursue every legal option available to defend students' rights and democratic institutions.