FUTMINNA rejects Niger govt claim, insists Bosso campus is federal property
The Federal University of Technology, Minna, has rejected claims by the Niger State Government that its Bosso Campus was held on a temporary lease, maintaining that the land was purchased
The Federal University of Technology, Minna, has rejected claims by the Niger State Government that its Bosso Campus was held on a temporary lease, maintaining that the land was purchased outright in 1983 for N2.8 million and remains federal property.
In an official statement issued on Wednesday, the university’s management, through its Registrar and Secretary to Council, Mallam Danladi Mallam, stated that the institution retains full ownership of the property. It warned that any attempt to reclaim the campus would constitute unlawful dispossession of federal assets and undermine decades of public investment.
The response followed reports that the state government had written to the university, indicating plans to take over the Bosso Campus, arguing that the land had been leased to the institution and that academic activities had since been relocated to the Gidan Kwano site.
The university, however, insisted that the acquisition was permanent and not subject to reversion, maintaining that the campus remains part of its legally established assets.
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"The former Government Teachers’ College in Bosso was permanently acquired from the Niger State Government in 1983 when FUTMINNA was established. The N2.8 million compensation was paid in full, completing an outright purchase with no lease agreement, no tenancy document, and no temporary clause ever recorded.
"Since then, the Federal Government has pumped billions into massive expansion, including new academic blocks, laboratories, lecture theatres, staff quarters, student hostels, and entire faculties. The university also bought and paid for extra adjoining lands from private owners, including Dr. Michael O. Ikeh, Amajo Enterprises, and the Roman Catholic Church, further expanding the campus.
"Today, Bosso Campus remains fully active and strategic. It houses the School of Science and Technology Education, the Centre for Disaster Risk Management and Development Studies, the Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, the University Staff School, the Model Secondary School, health services, student hostels, a sports complex, banks, mosques, chapels, and critical administrative offices. "It is not idle or abandoned," the statement read.
Mallam disclosed that the university’s position is backed by official records, which include minutes of the Second Council meeting on September 27, 1983, the 1999-2003 Federal Government Visitation Panel Report, and a 2014 National Universities Commission circular that explicitly states such facilities provided by states to federal universities do not revert to the states.
"Under the Land Use Act, the document insists, no state governor can unilaterally seize land validly vested in the Federal Government", he said.
The fresh rebuttal comes days after ASUU raised the alarm and protested over the state’s desperate move. Niger State Government has not responded to these developments. The institution, alongside its staff and students, has vowed to firmly hold its ground and continue utilizing the property.
