Former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently rein in his family members, particularly his son, who, Atiku said, “appears determined to purchase political loyalty for his father by any means necessary, including coercion, violence, and intimidation.”
The former vice president who was reacting to a video making the round by the President of National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS), Atiku Isah alleging physical assault, abduction, and inducement at the hands of Seyi Tinubu, described such allegations as “deeply alarming and strike at the core of democratic norms and civil liberty.”
Atiku in a statement by his media adviser Paul Ibe, said the allegations are both disturbing and dangerous.
“Had this incident ended fatally, it would have been recorded among the growing list of atrocities committed by criminal elements in the country.
“That it is allegedly tied to the president’s own son makes it even more horrifying. What’s worse is the emerging suggestion that even top security officials are not beyond Seyi Tinubu’s overreaching influence – an unacceptable compromise of state institutions,” he stated.
Atiku said it is intolerable that the first family would seek to subjugate the NANS, or any civil society group, through threats, bribes, or brute force.
“Nigeria is a democratic republic, not a monarchy handed down to one family,” he added.
The former vice president called on well-meaning Nigerians to speak out against the allegations, stating that the actions of the president’s family, specifically the drive to consolidate political power through manipulation and fear, must be condemned.
“We must remind them that the presidency is a public trust, not a private inheritance,” Atiku stated, and warned that attempts to drag him into the scandal by alleging a political alliance with Comrade Isah are baseless, malicious, and desperate.
He explained that his meeting with Isah “was centered solely on education reform and improving student welfare, which also includes institutions he founded, like the American University of Nigeria and AUN Academy.”
Atiku advised that Comrade Isah’s advocacy and public stance must be evaluated based on fact, not fiction.
“The allegations of abuse he has made demand an independent investigation, especially since the very agencies meant to protect citizens appear complicit in his ordeal.
“We issue a clear warning: nothing must happen to this young man. Any harm to him will not go unnoticed or unchallenged.
“Nigerians deserve truth, accountability, and a leadership that respects the rule of law, not a regime that weaponises power to silence dissent,” he said.
He expressed his commitment to the principles of democracy, rule of law, and the use of education as a cornerstone for national progress and development.
