Tuesday, May 19, 2026 - Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the abduction of schoolchildren and educators in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, as well as the killing of several residents in Katsina State, describing the incidents as evidence of what he called a “collapse of leadership” under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special
Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku expressed grief over
the reported killing of one of the teachers kidnapped during the Ogbomoso
incident, warning that worsening insecurity across the country had exposed deep
cracks in the nation’s security framework.
“At a time when armed criminals are abducting
schoolchildren, slaughtering innocent citizens, and turning communities into
graveyards, President Tinubu’s response remains the same tired ritual: condemn
the killings, threaten that the perpetrators will face the ‘full wrath of the
law,’ and then wait for the next massacre,” the statement read.
“Nigerians have heard this script too many times. It has
become painfully predictable and utterly meaningless.
“President Tinubu must stop governing by obituary
statements.
“Enough of the recycled outrage. Enough of the empty
threats. Nigerians are dying, and this government keeps responding with press
releases.”
The former vice president said the recurring attacks on
schools and communities across the country had emboldened criminal groups who
now operate “with terrifying confidence.”
“A President who only finds his voice after blood has been
spilt is not leading but presiding over failure,” Atiku stated.
“The horrifying abduction in Ogbomoso and the gruesome
killings in Katsina are not isolated incidents. They are part of a grim
national pattern in which criminals operate with terrifying confidence because
they no longer fear the Nigerian state.
“When terrorists can invade schools, abduct children and
teachers, butcher pregnant women, sack entire communities, and disappear
without consequence, it is because the authority of the state has collapsed.”
Nigeria has in recent years witnessed a resurgence of
kidnappings, bandit attacks and mass killings, particularly in parts of the
North-West and North-Central regions, despite repeated assurances by the
Federal Government that security agencies are making progress against criminal
elements.
The Ogbomoso abduction has further heightened concerns over
the safety of schools, reviving memories of previous mass kidnappings of
students in states such as Kaduna, Zamfara and Niger. In Katsina State,
communities have continued to grapple with attacks by armed groups, with
residents frequently reporting killings, kidnappings and destruction of
property.
Atiku questioned the repeated use of official statements
following violent attacks, arguing that condolences without decisive action had
failed to reassure Nigerians.
“What comfort is ‘the full wrath of the law’ to families
already burying their loved ones? What solace is another presidential statement
to parents now terrified that sending their children to school may be a death
sentence?” he asked.
The Turakin Adamawa also raised concerns over alleged
attempts to suppress graphic evidence of attacks from circulating in the public
space.
“Even more disturbing are reports suggesting deliberate
attempts to suppress images and documentation of these atrocities from reaching
the Nigerian public.
“If this government is indeed more interested in censoring
evidence of mass killings than in preventing the killings themselves, then that
is not merely incompetence — it is cruelty of the highest order.
“No serious government hides the blood of its citizens to
protect political optics.”
He added that the inability of the government to guarantee
security while allegedly attempting to control narratives surrounding the
attacks amounted to a deeper moral crisis.
“A government that cannot protect the living but seeks to
censor evidence of their deaths has lost every moral right to govern.
“This is no longer just a security failure. It is a moral
failure. A leadership failure. A national disgrace.
“Nigerians deserve more than performative outrage and
ceremonial condolences. They deserve a government that can protect lives,
defend communities, and act before tragedy strikes — not one that merely reacts
after the damage is done,” he added.
Atiku called for the immediate rescue of all abducted
victims in Oyo State, stronger security operations in vulnerable communities,
and a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture.
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