By Samson Yaki Bako
The Senate of the Federal University Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA) has approved the rustication of 20 students for various forms of examination malpractice.
The decision, which will take effect from the second semester of the 2025/2026 academic session, was reached during the institution’s 138th Regular Senate Meeting held on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at the university’s Twin-Theatre on the main campus.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university and Chairman of Senate, Mohammed Khalid Othman, announced the development after the Senate considered and adopted the report of the Students’ Disciplinary Committee.
According to the Vice-Chancellor, the action was taken in line with Section 13.3, subsection 13.3(c) of the university’s policy on examination irregularities and academic misconduct.
Professor Othman commended members of the disciplinary committee for their commitment to upholding the university’s examination policies and ensuring fairness and due process in handling the cases.
He explained that the decision was intended to send a strong warning to students and discourage acts capable of undermining academic integrity within the institution.
“The Senate’s decision is to send clear signals to all students to brace up to do the needful and also serve as a deterrence to those who want to cut corners by violating the university’s rules governing examination conduct,” he said.
The affected students and their departments include: Aliyu Salele (Library and Information Science); Ahmed Datti (Educational Foundations); Umar Yakubu (Political Science); Abubakar Habibu (Political Science); Alamin Rabiuku (Sociology); and Abdulwahab Zango Idris (Computer Science).
Others include, Musa Munkaila (Geography); Isah Faisal (Geography); Tobi Victor Arinsola (Agricultural and Bio-Engineering); Asim Musa (Agricultural and Bio-Engineering); Mathias David Bawa (Agricultural and Bio-Engineering); Ibrahim Adunfe Agbaje (Agricultural and Bio-Engineering); Solomon Promise (Agricultural and Bio-Engineering); Muhammed M. Abdulhadi (Agricultural and Bio-Engineering); Abdulrahman Dalhat (Agricultural and Bio-Engineering) and Ibrahim Garba Bashar (Agricultural and Bio-Engineering).
Also in the list are Lawal Musa (Plant Science and Biotechnology); Victor Augustine (Economics and Development Studies); and Matthew Joseph Bala (Political Science).
Professor Othman noted that the affected students were given the opportunity to appear before the disciplinary committee to defend themselves before the final decision was taken.
In a related development, the Senate also directed the strict enforcement of the university’s academic policy requiring students to attain at least 75 per cent lecture attendance before they can qualify to sit for examinations.
The policy, reaffirmed during the same Senate meeting, stipulates under Section 12.05(b) of the university’s Academic Policy that students must satisfy a minimum of 75 per cent lecture attendance to be eligible to participate in university examinations.
The Vice-Chancellor urged students to comply strictly with the attendance requirement and other academic regulations in order to achieve academic success.
The Senate added that strict enforcement of the attendance rule would encourage students to take lectures more seriously and help improve overall academic performance in the university.