Factional NANS President Atiku Isah Sues Tinubu’s Son Seyi, Others

A factional president of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Atiku Abubakar Isah has taken legal action against Seyi Tinubu, son of Nigeria’s President, along with the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

Isah claims his rights were violated and is demanding justice.

The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, May 14, 2025, at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The case number is FHC/ABJ/CS/966/2025. Isah’s legal team, led by Ugwueze I. Oduegbu and R.O. Ifebhor of Ajunwa & Co., submitted the case under Nigeria’s Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Isah says he was kidnapped, detained unlawfully for over 15 days, beaten, stabbed, and publicly defamed. According to him, all of this was done to silence his activism and force him to step down as NANS president.

Among his demands is a declaration that “the Respondents’ blatant, kidnapping, adoption and unlawful detention of the Applicant for over 15 days and continuous detention without charging him to any court of competent jurisdiction amounts to total breach of the Applicant’s fundamental human rights to freedom of movement.”

He further claims he was stabbed and left bleeding, an act he says breaks the laws protecting human dignity. He’s asking the court to confirm this as inhuman and degrading treatment, referring to Section 34 of the Constitution and Articles 5 and 16 of the African Charter.

Isah also wants the court to rule that threats to his life and the alleged stabbing were meant to scare him out of his NANS role. He says this amounts to “breach of the fundamental human rights to life” and caused “emotional torture.”

He is asking the court for the following: Immediate and unconditional release from DSS detention; An order stopping the DSS, Seyi Tinubu, and others from further harming or threatening him; N32.87 billion as general damages; N5.5 billion as exemplary damages.

20% interest on the judgment amount until full payment, or for the court to keep the funds in an interest-bearing account if an appeal is filed.

This court case follows a leadership crisis in NANS, with Isah representing a faction opposing the influence of the current government. The tension reportedly peaked during his inauguration at The Wells Carlton Hotel in Abuja, where he claims he was assaulted by Seyi Tinubu.