Management of the Madonna University, Elele Campus, Rivers State, has expelled a final-year nursing student, simply identified as Mercy, and suspended 14 other 500-level students of the same department over a viral TikTok video.
The viral video showed a group of nursing students dancing in a hospital waiting area, staircase, and bus.
Mercy, who featured in the opening seconds of the clip dancing in a hospital hallway, allegedly received her expulsion letter during the week.
The dance routine was recorded as part of a social media trend known as the “Gen Z nurses” challenge, featuring healthcare workers dancing in clinical settings.
The video contained a Pidgin English caption reading: “No fall sick o, na Gen Z full hospital now.”
By Saturday evening, the TikTok account used to publish the video had been set to private, while direct messages sent to the user remained undelivered.
It was gathered that the clip was uploaded in August and picked up by social media blogs early last month.
A 15-second version of the video published by Yabaleftonline on September 1 had gathered over 1.7 million views on X by Saturday. The video was recorded on the premises of the university’s Elele campus.
Madonna University, established as the first private Catholic university in West Africa, operates three campuses in Elele, Rivers State; Okija, Anambra State; and Akpugo, Enugu State.
A medical influencer and TikTok content creator, Nurse Girma (@nurse_girma), drew public attention to the video and launched an online appeal for the institution to grant the affected students clemency.
In a video posted on Friday, Girma confirmed that the university senate had handed down the disciplinary measures.
“The information reaching us from last night and this morning is that the owner of the account has been expelled and other students involved have been served suspension,” Girma said.
He explained that the video had trended negatively, prompting healthcare professionals to call for stricter regulation of student conduct.
Girma noted that he initially assumed the students were registered nurses, but later deleted some of his commentary after learning they were undergraduates.
“Yesterday night, unfortunately, the senate of her school handed out an expulsion letter and every other person involved, a suspension letter.
“I know what has happened has happened, but I want to appeal to the school to temper justice with mercy; when it came to me that she is a 500-level student, it really melted my heart,” he said.
Social media users expressed divergent views over the sanctions meted out by the university authorities.
An X user, Ize (@santaluceya), backed the university’s decision, stating that the students breached known institutional guidelines.
“They respect and value their name and their image; if you are their student, you can’t post anything controversial or silly online,” Ize wrote.
“The tuition fee for Nursing students in Madonna is around N1.5m to N1.8m per session, and when the video was getting views, Mercy was asked to take it down, but she blatantly refused,” the user added.
Similarly, a TikTok user, Sharon (officialsharonbackup), argued that the students mocked the healthcare profession.
“These are not 100-level students; they are final-year students about to become registered nurses who made a video that mocked patients,” Sharon wrote.
Conversely, another user, Her Excellency (her_excellency75), urged the university to show leniency, describing the dance as a harmless stress-relief activity.
“I feel that whatever will reduce stress should be adopted; this can be diversionary therapy, but there should be balance in all we do,” she wrote.
An X user, Nurse Bassey (@nursebassey_), described the expulsion as excessive given the years of study invested by the student.
“Do you think nursing school is a two-month course? You can condemn the video if you think it was inappropriate, but expulsion after years of school fees, clinicals, exams, and sacrifice?” Bassey queried.
A TikTok user, Cynthia Mordi, suggested that the university should have withheld their results for one year or assigned community service instead.
Reacting to the development, the National Executive Council of the Nigerian Universities Nursing Students’ Association expressed concern over the sanctions.
In a statement signed by its National President, Madu Valentine, and Secretary General, Ogwuche Joy, NUNSA stated that it had initiated talks with relevant authorities to seek a review of the decision.
“High-level discussions have already commenced with relevant stakeholders, and decisive steps are being taken to formally communicate our concerns to the university’s management,” the statement read.
“Our primary objective is to seek a fair, just, and favorable resolution by adequately representing the interests and welfare of the affected students,” NUNSA added.
Similarly, the National Association of Nigerian Students, through a statement by its President, Babatunde Akinteye, appealed to the management of the institution to pardon the students.
Akinteye said, “No doubt, such conduct is grossly inappropriate and does not align with the ethics, discipline, and professional standards expected of students of Nursing.
“However, we humbly appeal to the Management of Madonna University, a reputable institution with a long-standing commitment to academic excellence and character formation, to temper justice with mercy and reconsider the severity of the punishment imposed on these students.
Expulsion is, by far, a grave punishment. Beyond the immediate academic consequences, it can fundamentally alter the course of a young person’s life. These students have invested years of their lives, resources, and hopes in pursuing a professional career in Nursing. An expulsion at this stage could have a lasting toll on their academics, their future careers, and their mental and emotional well-being.”
