Madonna University faces criticism after expelling 500-level nursing student, 14 others suspended over viral ‘Gen Z nurses’ TikTok video

• Madonna University expelled one final-year nursing student.

• 14 other 500-level nursing students were suspended.

• The students appeared dancing in a viral hospital TikTok video.

• NANS and NUNSA have called for the sanctions to be reviewed.

Madonna University, Elele Campus in Rivers State, is facing criticism after expelling a final-year nursing student and suspending 14 others over a viral TikTok video showing the students dancing in a hospital environment.

The student, identified simply as Mercy, was reportedly expelled after featuring in the opening part of the video, while the 14 other 500-level nursing students involved were handed suspension letters.

The video, which was reportedly uploaded in August 2026, showed the students dancing in different locations, including a hospital waiting area, staircase, corridor and inside a bus on the university premises.

The clip was part of a social-media trend known as the “Gen Z nurses” challenge, in which healthcare workers and nursing students record dance videos in clinical settings.

The video carried the Pidgin caption, “No fall sick o, na Gen Z full hospital now,” and later attracted widespread attention after being circulated by social-media blogs.

A 15-second version of the video shared by Yabaleftonline on X on September 1 reportedly garnered more than 1.7 million views. The TikTok account that originally posted the video was subsequently made private.

The university's Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Chima Achu, confirmed that the video was recorded inside the institution's teaching hospital.

Achu told reporters that the university was preparing an official response to the incident.

“We’re preparing a response that’ll go out on Monday; of course there’ll be an official position by the university,” he said.

The disciplinary action has since triggered calls for the university to reconsider the expulsion, particularly because the affected student was already in her final year.

Medical influencer and TikTok creator Nurse Girma, who drew attention to the sanctions, appealed to the university to show the students clemency.

He said he initially understood the people in the video to be practising nurses but reconsidered his position after learning they were nursing students.

“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,” Girma said.

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) also appealed to Madonna University to reconsider the punishment.

NANS President Akinteye Babatunde Afeez acknowledged that the students' conduct was inappropriate and did not reflect the level of discipline and professionalism expected of nursing students.

However, he argued that expulsion was too severe, particularly at the final stage of their training.

“Expulsion is, by far, a grave punishment. Beyond the immediate academic consequences, it can fundamentally alter the course of a young person’s life,” Afeez said.

He added that the students had invested years, resources and hopes into pursuing nursing careers and urged the university to replace the expulsion with a stern warning.

“Therefore, we appeal to the compassion and clemency of the Management of Madonna University to please save their future and give them a second chance,” he said.

The Nigerian Universities Nursing Students’ Association (NUNSA) has also joined calls for the sanctions to be reviewed.

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The association said it had begun discussions with relevant stakeholders and the university management in an effort to secure what it described as a fair resolution for the affected students.

“Our primary objective is to seek a fair, just, and favourable resolution by adequately representing the interests and welfare of the affected students,” NUNSA said.

The reaction to the sanctions has been mixed. While some people have defended the university's decision, arguing that nursing students should understand the professional standards expected of them and the sensitivity of filming entertainment content in a hospital environment, others have questioned whether expulsion was proportionate to the offence.

Some critics have suggested alternatives including suspension, withholding the students' results for a period or community service instead of expulsion.

For now, what has been confirmed is that one 500-level nursing student was expelled and 14 others were suspended following the viral video, while student bodies including NANS and NUNSA are calling for the sanctions to be reconsidered.