By Our Reporter
Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has flayed the Federal Government’s handling of the recent abduction and release of 24 schoolgirls in Kebbi State, warning that the development was not a security success but evidence that terrorists now operate as an "alternative government" in parts of the country.
The former vice president said this in a statement issued by his media office on Wednesday, in reaction to comments made on Arise News by the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga, who described the girls’ freedom as a security achievement.
It would be recalled that armed men stormed the Government Girls’ Secondary School in Maga, on November 17, killing a staff member and abducting 25 students from their dormitory. One student escaped soon after, leaving 24 in captivity until their release on Tuesday.
Atiku further described the remark as a "shameful attempt to whitewash a national tragedy and dress up government incompetence as heroism," even as 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.
The former vice president said it was pointedly clear, from the claim made by Onanuga, that the release of abducted Nigerians was 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."
"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?" Atiku queried.
"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," he said.
Speaking further, Atiku sadly noted that the repeated cycle of mass abductions, ransom payments and peaceful exits for bandits showed that terrorists now "negotiate, collect ransom, and walk away untouched," while officials celebrate their supposed cooperation.
According to him, no serious nation applauds itself for negotiating with criminals it claims to have under surveillance, stressing that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration had lost control of national security and was resorting to propaganda to mask its failures.
"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,” the statement concluded.
The abduction occurred on November 17, when armed men stormed the Government Girls’ Secondary School in Maga, killing a staff member and abducting 25 students from their dormitory. One student escaped soon after, leaving 24 in captivity until their release on Tuesday.
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