The association made this known in a statement released on Monday by its National President, Comrade Atiku Isah.
According to the statement, the decision to mobilise students for the protest was reached during an executive meeting of the association chaired by Isah.
NANS said the mobilisation was part of its commitment to the collective demand for justice, civil rights, and democratic accountability in Nigeria.
“Following the resolution reached at the recent executive meeting of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the leadership hereby calls on all Nigerian students to participate in the ‘Free Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’ nationwide protest scheduled for Monday, 20th October, 2025,” the statement read.
For effective coordination, NANS announced zonal convergence points across the country.
Students in the South-West Zone are to converge in Ekiti State and depart for Abuja on Sunday, October 19; those in the South-East Zone will meet in Enugu, while students from the South-South Zone will gather in Edo State.
To aid mobility, the association said ten buses have been allocated to each zone, and detailed travel arrangements would be communicated through respective Students’ Union Government (SUG) Presidents.
“This mobilisation is part of our collective demand for justice, civil rights, and democratic accountability. Freedom is achieved through struggle, and we remain committed to peaceful advocacy for what is right,” the statement added.
The planned protest comes as federal universities across Nigeria remain shut following an ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
It also coincides with the protest march announced by activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, who also fixed October 20 for a rally to the Presidential Villa demanding the release of the detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since June 2021, following his rearrest in Kenya.
