The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has called for the immediate release of its president, Comrade Atiku Abubakar Isah, allegedly seized by the Department of State Services (DSS) following a violent incident at the association’s inauguration ceremony in Abuja.
In a statement issued Friday by its Public Relations Officer, Comrade Orowole Eniola Owoyemi, the student body voiced deep worry over Isah’s prolonged detention, noting that the association’s core activities have been crippled. “We are appealing that the DSS release our president to us for the continuation of the organisation’s activities, as we have so many issues to attend to,” the statement read.
According to NANS, Isah was first abducted on April 15, 2025, by individuals linked to the Seyi Tinubu Students Association, led by Olusola Oladoja. He was reportedly stripped and coerced into granting a televised interview renouncing his presidency a statement he later disowned after regaining temporary freedom.
The group’s inauguration eventually held on April 29 at The Wells Carlton Hotel in Asokoro, Abuja, attracting prominent guests nationwide. However, disruption hit the event when hotel management abruptly attempted to cancel the gathering, allegedly acting on higher orders. “We had set the venue when the hotel management came to inform us that we could not hold our program there anymore because of an order from above,” Owoyemi stated.
“The manager claimed they had been instructed by the son of the President, Mr. Seyi Tinubu, to refund our money, which we refused, and they shut off all appliances in the hall. We proceeded anyway because our dignitaries were already on ground. Moments into the event, armed men wielding machetes, axes, and guns stormed the venue, attacked participants, injured Isah, stripped him once again, and whisked him away. “They started beating people, injured the president, stripped him naked again and took him away. Since then, we have had no access to him,” Owoyemi said.
NANS disclosed that Isah’s phones were seized by the DSS and he has been cut off from all communication. “We do not know if this is for his safety or otherwise, but the uncertainty is unacceptable,” Owoyemi added.
The students’ union is also demanding that The Wells Carlton Hotel release CCTV footage from the premises between 10 am and 1 pm on the day of the attack to help expose the culprits. “We urge the management of The Wells Carlton Hotel Asokoro Abuja to release the CCTV footage of every activity that happened on that day within the hotel premises between 10am and 1pm so that we can identify the perpetrators of this heinous evil, or they will be forced to do so,” NANS warned.
The association has pledged to exhaust all peaceful and legal means to ensure their president’s release and to seek justice for the assault.
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