ALLEGATIONS AGAINST SEYI TINUBU: Release NANS President Atiku Abubakar Isah from detention now, Take-It-Back Movement tells DSS

By KEMI KASUMU and OUR REPORTER

“I asked if they were going to hurt him or something, because I’m young and don’t know anything about politics. He said he believes they want to blackmail him because they gave him a gun to hold and then took pictures of him,” the family source said, according to Sahara Reporters.

The Take-It-Back (TIB) Movement in Nigeria has demanded the immediate and unconditional release of embattled President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Atiku Abubakar Isah, who is reportedly being held by the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja, after he made public allegations implicating Seyi Tinubu, son of the Nigerian President in bribery and assault.

Take-It-Back Movement made this demand in a press statement released on Monday May 12, 2025, signed by Adekunle Adeyemi Taofeek, the Lagos State Coordinator of the the group, and circulated to the media.

The TIB condemned what it described as the unlawful detention of the students movement leader, who was supposed to be recuperating in hospital from injuries he sustained from attacks he alleged Seyi Tinubu led on his during his inauguration in Abuja as NANS president.

According to the statement, Isah has been held incommunicado in a DSS medical facility in Abuja without access to legal counsel or contact with family members since making the damning allegations.

This was happening even as this global online newspaper gathered that neither the same DSS nor Nigerian police has bothered to investigate with a view to making arrests in connection with the violent attacks of the man the secret agents are keeping with them.

Olusola Oladoja, who led the pro-government faction allegedly responsible for the violent and walked out on Arise Television interview programme refusing to let Nigerians get his own side, is said to have been moving freely unarrested, even as he makes frantic effort speaking for Seyi Tinubu on the matter.

While this continued, done bloggers were seen circulating a purported apology using some Facebook pages named Atiku Abubakar Isah to create impression that the seriously wounded NANS president had regretted his allegations against Seyi Tinubu and apologized.

It was a situation that has led to many more Nigerians getting angry to learn that the man whose apology to Seyi Tinubu was being circulated has since been taken out of reach to defend himself.

Angered by this, the Take-It-Back Movement said “Comrade Isah, factional president of NANS, has been reportedly held incommunicado in a DSS medical facility in Abuja following his public allegations against individuals closely linked to the Presidency,” the statement read.

The TIB Movement described Isah’s detention as a “blatant violation of his fundamental human rights” and accused the Tinubu-led government of weaponising state security forces to suppress dissent among Nigerian youth and student activists.

“This disturbing development reflects a growing pattern of repression targeted at student leaders and youth voices who dare to dissent or speak truth to power. It is shameful and undemocratic that a student’s freedom is being trampled simply because he belongs to a faction of NANS not aligned with those in power,” the group stated.

Taofeek, a former NANS member and known human rights activist, emphasised that factionalism within NANS is not new and should not be criminalised.

“Let it be clearly stated: NANS, historically, has never been a monolith. Factions exist as expressions of ideological divergence, something that should be welcomed in any democratic setting. The weaponisation of state security forces to settle internal student union disputes or silence perceived opponents is an affront to Nigeria’s democratic principles,” he said.

The statement further called on the DSS to release Isah without conditions and urged the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Amnesty International to intervene immediately.

“We therefore call on the DSS to immediately and unconditionally release Comrade Atiku Isah; The National Human Rights Commission and Amnesty International to intervene and ensure his safety and rights are protected; Civil society, student bodies, and all lovers of democracy to rise in solidarity and resist this abuse of power,” it added.

SaharaReporters earlier reported that Atiku Abubakar Isah, had been moved from the Department of State Services (DSS) clinic to the agency’s national headquarters in Abuja.

A family member, who is familiar with the development, confirmed to SaharaReporters on Monday that DSS operatives arrived at the clinic and whisked the student leader away, leaving behind his personal belongings.

“I left the clinic yesterday (on Sunday) with his clothes that I needed to sew and wash,” the source said.

“On my way to the DSS clinic this morning, he called again and told me to hurry. When I got there, his bags were already packed and he was dressed in white. When I got inside, he told me the DSS officers said they were taking him to their headquarters and that I should take his bags to my place. We’re afraid; we don’t know what they plan to do him.”

The family member, who appeared visibly shaken, raised concerns over possible foul play and psychological pressure being exerted on the students leader, Sahara Reporters said.

“I asked if they were going to hurt him or something, because I’m young and don’t know anything about politics. He said he believes they want to blackmail him because they gave him a gun to hold and then took pictures of him,” the family source said, according to Sahara Reporters.

“Those thugs did that to him in the presence of the DSS personnel, who came to get him the day he was attacked at The Wells Carlton Hotel.”