Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Federal Government’s handling of the recent abd¥ction and release of schoolgirls in Kebbi State, calling it evidence that terr+rists now operate as an “alternative government” rather than a security success.
In a statement on Wednesday, Atiku challenged comments by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who described the girls’ release as a security achievement on Arise News. He called the remarks “a shameful attempt to whitewash a national tr@gedy and dress up government incompetence as heroism.”
Atiku questioned claims that security agencies tracked the kidnappers in real time. He argued that such intelligence should have led to the arrest or neutralisation of the abd¥ctors, not negotiations. “If the DSS and military could track the kidn+ppers in real time, why were these cr+minals not arrested or dismantled on the spot?” he asked.
He also highlighted the repeated cycle of mass abd¥ctions, ransom payments, and peaceful exits for b@ndits, saying terr+rists now “negotiate, collect ransom, and walk away untouched” while officials celebrate their supposed cooperation. “No serious nation applauds itself for negotiating with cr+minals it claims to have under surveillance,” Atiku added.
Atiku accused the administration of masking failures with propaganda, warning that under Tinubu, terr+rists and b@ndits act as an alternative government, negotiating, collecting ransom, and walking away while the presidency celebrates their ‘compliance.’
The Kebbi abduction occurred on November 17, when armed men stormed Government Girls’ Secondary School in Maga, k+lling a staff member and abd¥cting 25 students. One escaped, leaving 24 in captivity until their release on Tuesday. President Bola Tinubu, through Onanuga, welcomed the release and urged security agencies to intensify operations to rescue other abd¥cted Nigerians nationwide.
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