Fifteen nursing students of Madonna University, Elele Campus, Rivers State, have apologised to the institution’s management and appealed for leniency after one of their colleagues was expelled and 14 others suspended over a controversial TikTok video recorded during their community posting.

In a joint letter dated November 2, 2026, and made available to PUNCH Online on Tuesday, November 10, the students admitted that their participation in the video had brought embarrassment to the university and the nursing profession.

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The video, captioned “No Sick oo Na Gen Z full hospital”, showed the students dancing in different locations, including a hospital waiting area, staircase and a bus on the university campus.

The clip was part of the popular “Gen Z nurses” social media challenge, which attracted widespread attention and criticism over the appropriateness of recording entertainment content in a healthcare environment.

Acknowledging the consequences of their actions, the students said they had reflected on the incident and regretted their decision to record and share the footage.

“We sincerely regret our said actions and assure the university management and all relevant authorities that such an incident will not repeat itself again,” the letter, jointly signed by the students, stated.

They appealed to the management to reconsider the disciplinary measures, stressing that they had invested years of effort and made significant sacrifices to reach the advanced stage of their nursing education.

We humbly plead for leniency and mercy.

We have worked hard and made several sacrifices, alongside our families, to reach this stage of our academic journey, they wrote.

The students asked the university to allow them to continue their programmes and fulfil their ambition of becoming qualified nursing professionals.

They also expressed appreciation to the management for engaging their parents and guardians over the matter, describing the opportunity given to their families to be heard as a gesture they valued.

The disciplinary action followed public criticism of the video, which was circulated widely on social media after it emerged that the students were undergoing nursing training.

The university expelled one 500-level student identified as Mercy and suspended 14 others who were also in their final year.

The sanctions sparked a wider debate about professional conduct among student nurses, the responsibilities of healthcare trainees and whether the punishment was proportionate to the offence.

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) acknowledged that the students’ conduct was inappropriate but appealed to the university to reconsider the expulsion.

NANS President, Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, argued that removing a student at the final stage of an academic programme could have serious consequences for her education and future career.

The association proposed a stern warning as an alternative.

The Nigerian Universities Nursing Students’ Association (NUNSA) also intervened, saying it had begun discussions with relevant stakeholders and the university management to seek a fair review of the sanctions.

Amnesty International subsequently urged the institution to reverse the disciplinary measures, describing them as disproportionate and calling for dialogue and mediation.

The rights organisation argued that the students’ rights to education and freedom of expression should be respected, while also urging the university to ensure that its disciplinary procedures complied with international human rights standards.

The controversy has also drawn attention to the responsibility of nursing students to maintain professional standards, particularly when recording and sharing content within healthcare facilities where patients and other members of the public may be present.

Although the students have now acknowledged their mistake and promised that it would not happen again, their appeal leaves the university management with a decision over whether to maintain or review the sanctions.

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For the affected students, the outcome could determine whether they are given another opportunity to complete the years of training and sacrifices they say they have invested in pursuing careers in nursing.