By Ayomide Otitoju
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has sharply criticised the Federal Government’s handling of kidnappers, accusing President Bola Tinubu’s administration of treating terrorists with undue leniency.
Atiku’s comments, released on Wednesday through his spokesman Paul Ibe, came shortly after the presidency announced the release of schoolgirls abducted in Kebbi State last Monday. Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga had stated that the girls, along with other students freed in Niger State and 38 worshippers in Kwara, were released without ransom payments.
In the statement, Ibe said, “Under Tinubu, terrorists/bandits have become an alternative government — negotiating, collecting ransom, and walking away untouched — while the presidency celebrates their ‘compliance’.”
He criticised the government for praising the release as an achievement, saying, “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.”
Describing Onanuga’s remarks as “a shameful attempt to whitewash a national tragedy and dress up government incompetence as heroism,” Ibe said the release of abducted Nigerians should serve as a warning, not a celebration. “Terrorists now operate freely, negotiate openly, and dictate terms while this administration issues press statements to save face,” he added.
He further questioned the government’s claims of tracking the kidnappers, stating, “If the DSS and military could ‘track’ the kidnappers in real time and ‘made contact’ with them, then the question is simple: why is the government boasting while the perpetrators remain at large?”
Atiku’s statement underscores growing concerns about insecurity and government responses amid rising attacks and abductions across Nigeria.
