The former Nigerian Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has sharply criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration for treating the recent release of abducted schoolgirls in Kebbi State as an achievement, describing it instead as symptomatic of Nigeria’s deepening insecurity.
In a statement released by his media office, Atiku rebuked the government’s special adviser, Bayo Onanuga, for publicly describing the release of kidnapped students as a “triumph.” Atiku charged that such language is a “shameful attempt to whitewash a national tragedy and dress up government incompetence as heroism.” He added, “The return of the schoolgirls is not a trophy moment but a damning reminder that terrorists now operate freely, negotiate openly, and dictate terms while this administration issues press statements to save face.”
Atiku slammed government claims that security agencies could “track the kidnappers in real time and ‘made contact’ with them.” He challenged, “Why were these criminals not arrested, neutralised, or dismantled on the spot? Why is the government boasting about talking to terrorists instead of eliminating them? Why is kidnapping now reduced to a routine phone call between criminals and state officials?”
He called attention to what he termed “irresponsible and reckless narrative,” asserting that under the current government, “terrorists and bandits have become an alternative government, negotiating, collecting ransom, and walking away untouched, while the presidency celebrates their ‘compliance.”
.Atiku declared, “No serious nation applauds itself for negotiating with terrorists it claims to have under surveillance. No responsible government congratulates itself for allowing abductors to walk back into the forests to kidnap again.” He demanded accountability, saying, “If the security agencies truly had eyes on the kidnappers, then letting them escape is a national disgrace that smacks of complicity. If they did not have such capacity, then Onanuga is simply manufacturing lies to cover up a monumental failure of leadership. Either way, the statement is an embarrassing admission that this administration has lost control of national security and is now trying to spin incompetence into achievement”
.Atiku concluded that Nigerians deserve more than “propaganda and fairy tales by moonlight—they require real protection and credible leadership that can restore safety, justice, and dignity to all.”
