The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has unveiled its plan to join the “Free Mazi Nnamdi Kanu” nationwide protest set for the 20th of October, 2025.
The announcement was contained in a statement issued on Monday, the 13th of October 2025, by NANS President, Atiku Isah.
According to the statement, the decision to mobilise students for the demonstration was reached during the association’s executive meeting presided over by Isah.
NANS explained that the protest forms part of a broader movement pushing for justice, civil rights, and democratic accountability in the country.
The statement read, “Following the resolution reached at the recent executive meeting of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), which was chaired by the National President, Comrade Atiku Isah, the leadership of NANS hereby calls on all Nigerian students to participate in the ‘Free Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’ nationwide protest scheduled to be held on Monday, 20th October, 2025.
“To ensure effective coordination and participation across the country, students are to assemble at designated zonal points before proceeding to Abuja:
“South West Zone: Students are to converge in Ekiti State and depart for Abuja on Sunday, 19th October, 2025.
“South East Zone: All students are to meet in Enugu.
“South-South Zone: The convergence point is Edo State.
“North East Zone: Students are to assemble in Bauchi State.
“North West Zone: The meeting point is Kano State, and “North Central Zone: Students will gather in Lokoja, Kogi State.
“For smooth transportation, ten (10) buses will be allocated to each zone. Detailed travel plans and further arrangements will be communicated directly to the respective Students’ Union Government (SUG) Presidents by the national leadership.
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“This mobilisation is part of the collective demand for justice, civil rights, and democratic accountability. As students, we affirm that freedom is achieved through struggle, and we remain committed to peaceful advocacy for what is right.”
The planned protest coincides with the ongoing shutdown of federal universities following the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike that began on Monday, the 13th of October.
The announcement also follows a call by activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, who had declared the 20th of October, 2025, as the date for a protest march to the Presidential Villa to demand the release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Kanu has remained in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since his rearrest in Kenya in June 2021.
There have been repeated appeals to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from different groups urging him to release the detained IPOB leader.