Atiku Abubakar Isah, who claims to be the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), has alleged that Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, and rival faction leader Ladoja Olusola orchestrated his abduction by gun-wielding thugs in Abuja on Tuesday. In a statement issued on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, Isah said he was beaten, stripped naked, and subjected to dehumanising treatment. He also claimed he was forced to record an involuntary statement at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) studio.
Isah stated that since his overwhelming election as NANS president at the so-called 125th convention, Seyi Tinubu declared him an enemy, leading to constant threats to his life. Despite writing several petitions to the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetoken, and other security agencies, no action was taken. He expressed gratitude to Nigerian students and the media for their support and vowed to continue leading NANS without fear or intimidation to serve students’ best interests.
The statement read in part:
“I was abducted in Abuja by gun-wielding thugs on the instructions of Seyi Tinubu and Ladoja Olusola. I was beaten, subjected to the most cruel and dehumanising treatments, my clothes torn to shreds and stripped naked… I was thereafter hurriedly packaged, and in connivance with the Managing Director of NTA, brought to the station where I was forced to release an involuntary statement.”
“I will continue to exercise this franchise freely given to me to lead this association… no amount of intimidation or threats will make us capitulate.”
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However, a group called Friends of Seyi Tinubu (FOST) denied the allegations, describing them as reckless and unfounded. They stated that Seyi Tinubu is not involved in NANS politics and that Isah’s claim to the NANS presidency is illegitimate and unrecognized by the mainstream student body. FOST called the accusations a smear campaign aimed at tarnishing Seyi Tinubu’s reputation.
Meanwhile, efforts to resolve the NANS leadership crisis have seen Isah agreeing to work with the recognized NANS president, Olusola Ladoja, to unify the association and focus on student welfare. Both leaders have expressed commitment to ending factionalism within NANS.
