By Zainab Bakare
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, and the killing of residents in Katsina State, describing the incidents as evidence of a growing leadership and security crisis under President Bola Tinubu.
In a statement issued on Tuesday through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku expresses concern over the worsening state of insecurity across the country, particularly reports that one of the teachers abducted during the Ogbomoso attack was killed.
The former vice president said repeated attacks on schools and communities exposed major weaknesses in Nigeria’s security system.
Tinubu’s Response
“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.
Atiku said many Nigerians have become frustrated with official condemnations that are rarely followed by concrete action. “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,” he said.
He argued that the continued attacks on schools and communities have emboldened criminal groups across the country.
“A President who only finds his voice after blood has been spilt is not leading but presiding over failure,” Atiku Stated.
National Security Emergency
The former vice president described the Ogbomoso abduction and killings in Katsina as part of a broader national security emergency, warning that criminal groups now operate with increasing confidence.
“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,” he stated.
Nigeria has faced recurring kidnappings, banditry and mass killings in recent years, especially across parts of the North-West and North-Central regions, despite repeated assurances from the Federal Government that security agencies are making progress against criminal groups.
The Ogbomoso incident has also renewed concerns about the safety of schools, reviving memories of previous mass abductions in states including Kaduna State, Zamfara State and Niger State.
Suppress Graphic Evidence of Attacks
Atiku further criticised what he described as attempts to suppress graphic evidence of attacks from circulating publicly.
“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,” he said.
He maintained that any government unable to protect citizens while allegedly trying to manage public narratives around attacks had lost its moral authority.
“This is no longer just a security failure. It is a moral failure. A leadership failure. A national disgrace,” he added.
The former vice president called for the immediate rescue of abducted victims in Oyo State, stronger security operations in vulnerable communities, and a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture
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