Wednesday, November 26, 2025 - Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has taken a swipe at the Federal Government over the rescue of the abducted schoolgirls in Kebbi State, arguing that their release is no cause for celebration but a sign of Nigeria’s deteriorating security climate.
In a statement issued by his media office on Wednesday,
Atiku criticised the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the
President, Bayo Onanuga, over comments made on Arise News describing the girls’
freedom as a security achievement.
Atiku stated the remarks were a “shameful attempt to
whitewash a national tragedy and dress up government incompetence as heroism.”
He further questioned Onanuga’s claim that security agencies
tracked the kidnappers in real time and contacted them, arguing that such
intelligence should have led to the arrest or neutralisation of the abductors,
not negotiations.
“Truth be
told, the release of abducted Nigerians is not a trophy moment; it is a damning
reminder that terrorists now operate freely, negotiate openly, and dictate
terms while this administration issues press statements to save face.
If, as
Onanuga claims, the DSS and the military could ‘track’ the kidnappers in real
time and ‘make contact’ with them, then the question is simple: 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?”he
asked
Atiku also stated that the repeated cycle of mass
abductions, ransom payments and peaceful exits for bandits shows that
terrorists now “negotiate, collect ransom, and walk away untouched,” while
officials celebrate their supposed cooperation.
He added that no serious nation applauds itself for
negotiating with criminals it claims to have under surveillance, stressing that
the administration has lost control of national security and is resorting to
propaganda to mask its failures.
“Under
Tinubu, terrorist/bandits have become an alternative government — negotiating,
collecting ransom, and walking away untouched — while the presidency celebrates
their ‘compliance.
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.
Onanuga and
his ilk should stop insulting Nigerians with propaganda. If the security
agencies truly had eyes on the kidnappers, then letting them escape is a
national disgrace that smacks of complicity.
At a time
Nigerians need protection, the government is offering fairy tales by
moonlight'' Atiku said
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