On July 11, 2024, unidentified armed men abducted Chris Olamiju, the Deputy Registrar at the Federal College of Education (Technical), from his home in university housing.

At around 3:00 am on July 11, armed men broke into Olamiju’s home. They abducted him and reportedly took various documents, his phone, and laptop. Mr. Olamiju’s wife and children were assaulted during the abduction.

An anonymous source suggested to local Nigerian news stations that Olamiju’s abduction was related to his involvement in on-campus protests. During the weeks prior to the abduction, a number of college staff, including Olamiju, had been protesting the college provost’s refusal to leave office in accordance with a new law signed by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu limiting the tenure of provosts to one single term of five years.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the abduction of higher education faculty members. State authorities should take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of scholars, students, and staff, including by investigating and holding perpetrators of such acts responsible, in line with international human rights standards. In addition to the harm to the immediate victim, kidnappings that target members of the higher education community undermine the conditions needed for the meaningful exercise of the right to education and academic freedom.

Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://punchng.com/lagos-college-registrar-abducted-over-anti-provost-protest/
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/07/college-leadership-crisis-unknown-gunmen-abduct-registrar-in-lagos/