The National Association of Nigerian Students‘ leadership has petitioned the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to arrest and prosecute the factional President of NANS, Pedro Obi, for allegedly impersonating NANS President Lucky Emonefe.
On Thursday, Emonefe led hundreds of students in a solidarity protest to the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, where he submitted the position paper to Akume. The petition was received on SGF’s behalf by Haliru Musa, Deputy Security Officer.
In an interview following the election, Obi announced himself as the winner, saying, “I did my best in line with our constitution. The election was conducted and at the end of the day, I won with 212 votes against my opponents, Sunday (49 votes) and Lucky Emonefe (64 votes).”
There was a crisis in the association, with each faction claiming control of the student body. On Tuesday, in a viral video on X, formerly Twitter, the two factions clashed in the Federal Capital Territory, leaving one seriously injured. Both sides were led by Obi from Delta State University and Emonefe from Warri College of Education in Delta State.
The FCT Police Command announced on Tuesday that it had initiated an investigation into the recent attacks and counterattacks made by NANS faction leaders against one another in the territory.
Josephine Adeh, the Police Public Relations Officer, verified the development on Tuesday following an investigation.
Speaking at the SGF’s office, Emonefe claimed that since Obi, a card-carrying member of the Peoples Democratic Party and the immediate past Special Assistant to Delta State Governor on Student Matters, lost the election at the NANS convention held between November 27 and December 3, 2023, he has been parading himself as NANS President after declaring himself the winner.
Emonefe, therefore, urged the Federal Government to direct security agencies to arrest Obi, who he described as an ‘impostor’, to avert students from taking the law into their own hands.