A land dispute between the Niger State Government and a Federal University has drawn in the country's foremost student body, which is now invoking a Supreme Court judgment to argue that the state has no legal basis to reclaim territory that houses one of the institution's most critical campuses.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NAN), Zone C, raised the alarm at a press briefing held on Wednesday, 4 March 2026, at the IBB Pen House in Minna. Zonal Coordinator Comrade Hussaini Jamilu Ebbo said the Niger State Government had issued two formal letters demanding that the Federal University of Technology, Minna, vacate the Bosso Campus, which the State claims was leased to the Federal Government, and that the lease has since expired.
The first letter, dated 3 October 2025, set out the state's position on the alleged lease. A second letter, issued on 27 November 2025 through the Office of the Secretary to the State Government, reiterated the demand to vacate. FUT Minna's Vice Chancellor formally responded, explaining that vacating the campus was not a viable option given its central role in the University's day to day operations.
Ebbo said the state's position was not only practically destructive but legally unsound. He cited a 2014 memo by the National Universities Commission clarifying that land provided by state governments for the establishment of Federal Universities does not revert to those states. He further referenced a Supreme Court judgment affirming that such properties are not subject to reclamation under the Land Use Act once they have been transferred for federal institutional purposes.
The stakes are considerable. According to NANS, the Bosso Campus houses at least nine major units, including the School of Science and Technology, staff quarters, a university clinic, the FUT Minna Microfinance Bank, lecture halls, laboratories, workshops, studios, and administrative offices. Ebbo noted that the land was originally allocated to the Federal Government in 1980, specifically for the establishment and development of the university.
He also questioned the timing of the State's move, noting that it came at a period when the federal government was actively investing in the revitalisation of federal institutions nationwide.
"The education of Nigerian students must not be politicised or jeopardised. FUT Minna is a federal institution established for national development, and its assets must be protected in the interest of students and the country," Ebbo said, urging the Niger State Government to pursue any outstanding concerns through constitutional and lawful channels rather than through administrative pressure on the institution.
With legal precedent, regulatory guidance, and institutional necessity all appearing to work against the State's position, the question is less whether FUT Minna can be moved and more why the attempt is being made at all.
