The authority of Madonna University, Elele Campus, Rivers State, has expelled a ‘Gen Z’ final-year nursing student, identified as Mercy, and also suspended 14 other 500-level students over a viral TikTok video, which showed a group of nursing students dancing in a hospital waiting area, staircase, and bus.
Penpushing reports that the expelled nursing studentwho allegedly received her expulsion letter during the week, featured in the opening seconds of the clip dancing in a hospital hallway, however, 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’, however, 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.
Penpushing further reports that the the clip was was said to have been uploaded in August and picked up by social media blogs early last month, while a 15-second version of the video published by Yabaleftonline on September 1, 2026 had gathered over 1.7 million views on X by Saturday.
The video was recorded on the premises of the 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.
Penpushing also reports that 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.
The video posted on Friday, Girma confirmed that the university senate had handed down the disciplinary measures, adding that the video had trended negatively, prompting healthcare professionals to call for stricter regulation of student conduct
“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.
Penpushing reports that Girma pointed out 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.
Penpushing further reports that social media users expressed divergent views over the sanctions meted out by the university authorities, however, 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. 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’, Ize wrote.
Penpushing also reports that in similar vein, a TikTok user, Sharon (officialsharonbackup), argued that the students mocked the healthcare profession, stressing that 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.
Meanwhile, another user, Her Excellency (her_excellency75), urged the university to show leniency, describing the dance as a harmless stress-relief activity,arguing that she felt that whatever will reduce stress should be adopted; this can be diversionary therapy, but there should be balance in all we do, however, the Director of Communications and Public Affairs, of the University, Chima Achu, said the institution would issue an official statement on Monday.
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