SaharaReporters earlier reported that Atiku was beaten by a faction of NANS backed by Seyi Tinubu, the son of Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The Department of State Services (DSS) has continued to detain the factional President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Atiku Abubakar Isah, for more than a week after he was reportedly assaulted and taken into custody during a violent incident at a student leadership event in Abuja.

Atiku was attacked last Tuesday during the official inauguration of the new NANS leadership, an event attended by prominent political figures, including former Kano State Governor Senator Ibrahim Shekarau and former Kogi State Governor Idris Wada, both of whom were also reportedly harassed during the chaos.

SaharaReporters earlier reported that Atiku was beaten by a faction of NANS backed by Seyi Tinubu, the son of Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The attack was reportedly carried out by loyalists of a rival NANS faction led by Olusola Ladoja, prompting the DSS to detain Atiku and take him to their clinic on Airport Road in Abuja.

"Despite the beating meted out to him by Ladoja and Seyi's thugs, the DSS still holds him in custody as if he has committed a crime," the source said.

"He has since regained his strength, but they refuse to release him to go home and rest."

Another source familiar with the matter further said that the DSS has been pressurising Atiku to make statements under duress.

"They are pressuring him to write things that are not true. Since last week, he has not been released or allowed to see his family, who are deeply concerned about his health and well-being," the source added.

While Atiku remains in custody, no known arrests have been made regarding the attack. 

The source expressed frustration that those responsible for the violence have not been held accountable.

"We thought they would release him by Wednesday, but they kept him. Meanwhile, the people who attacked him are walking free," the source added.

Previously, SaharaReporters reported that Atiku was being detained by the DSS following allegations that he was offered a N100 million bribe by Seyi Tinubu to support the government’s agenda.

Atiku had also accused Seyi Tinubu’s faction within NANS of orchestrating an assault against him. He specifically named Ladoja —the Seyi Tinubu-backed rival factional president—as the individual who allegedly kicked him in the face during the incident.

One DSS officer who spoke to SaharaReporters on condition of anonymity said Atiku 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 disavowed all previous statements linking Seyi Tinubu to the alleged bribe offer and physical assault.

The letter read: 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.