Atiku Abubakar Isah, the factional President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has been detained by the Department of State Services (DSS).
This is according to a report by Sahara Reporters.
The report stated that Isah’s arrest followed allegations that he was offered a N100 million bribe by Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, to support the government’s agenda.
Isah had also accused Seyi Tinubu’s faction within NANS of orchestrating an assault against him. He specifically named Ladoja Olusola—the Seyi Tinubu-backed rival factional president—as the individual who allegedly kicked him in the face during the incident.
SaharaReporters has exclusively learned that Isah has been in DSS custody since last Tuesday. His arrest came shortly after a disrupted inauguration ceremony in which he was declared president—a process marred by attacks from government-sponsored thugs. Sources said Isah was subsequently coerced into writing a statement retracting his allegations against Seyi Tinubu.
According to SaharaReporters’ sources, Isah is currently being held at the DSS hospital on Airport Road, Abuja, under the pretence of receiving medical treatment. However, insiders allege he is being blackmailed and pressured to withdraw his claims.
One DSS officer who spoke to SaharaReporters on condition of anonymity said Isah was forced to pose for a photo with a gun placed in his hand, intended to be used as blackmail.
“He was compelled to write the retraction letter as a condition for his release,” the source added. “He was arrested at the inauguration venue, and his phone was seized. Even though his condition has improved—he has completed his medication and now only uses eye drops—he remains in detention.”
SaharaReporters also obtained a copy of the letter allegedly signed by Isah under duress, in which he disavows all previous statements linking Seyi Tinubu to the alleged bribe offer and physical assault.
The letter reads: I wish to draw the attention of the general public to a trending video which I featured. In the video, I claimed that son of the President, Mr Seyi’ Tinubu and the Minister of Youths and Sport, Ayodele Olawande, invited me to Lagos. I further stated that the Minister and I hugged, and thereafter offered me #100,000,000 to support President Bola Ahmad Tinubu but that I rejected the offer.
In the video, I also claimed that, for what they considered my stubbornness to reject their #100,000,000, I was on the 15th of April, 2025 abducted, stripped naked and thoroughly beaten up right before the MD of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) to whom I had gone to purportedly announcement that I was stepping down from the race of the Presidency of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS)
I clearly stated that I later clarified that I didn’t step down, to which I was reportedly warned that Mr Seyi’ Tinubu could order my killing and thereafter instruct the Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, to bury the matter. I among other things, claimed that Seyi’ Tinubu led thugs to the venue of my Inauguration. These are false as I later found out from the source who fed me.
I wish to categorically state that everything I said in that video was based on the wrong information at my disposal. I was misled by political opportunists to destroy the character of Seyi’ Tinubu and his father, President Bola Ahmad Tinubu. At no time did I see Seyi Tinubu in Lagos or at The Wells Carlton Hotel, Abuja. I have since discovered, to my utmost pain and regret that some persons were out to use me for cheap political gains.
Consequently, I hereby use this medium to apologize to President Bola Ahmad Tinubu, his son Mr Seyi’ Tinubu;the Minister of Youths and Sports, as well as others who may have been offended by my utterance. I also apologize to my fellow Comrades, and to as many as are looking up to me for direction. I failed you and am deeply sorry. To err, they say, is human and to forgive, divine. I hope you will all have the grace to forgive me.
Thank you immensely.