Dare Babalola
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said the release of abducted schoolgirls in Kebbi State is not something to be celebrated.
In a statement issued by his media office on Wednesday, Atiku knocked the Federal Government for presenting their freedom as an achievement, stressing that it is evidence of Nigeria’s worsening security environment.
The former presidential candidate remarked that the schoolgirls’ return wasn’t a moment for celebration but “a damning reminder that terrorists now operate freely, negotiate openly, and dictate terms while this administration issues press statements to save face.”
This statement was prompted by comments from Bayo Onanuga, the Presidential Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, who spoke on Arise News TV Monday.
Onanuga had highlighted the role of the Department of State Services and the military in tracking the kidnappers in real time and establishing contact to secure the girls’ release without paying ransom.
The presidential aide explained that while security operatives possess the necessary intelligence, their operations are frequently hampered by the risk of collateral damage to civilians held captive by the bandits.
“The security people, they know all the bandits that are operating in that axis. They know them. They know where they operate.
“Our people are living around where they operate. So you can’t just go there. They need to be very careful that in the course of chasing these bandits, they don’t go and bomb innocent Nigerians,” he said.
However, Atiku dismissed the narrative as “a shameful attempt to whitewash a national tragedy and dress up government incompetence as heroism.”
“If, as Onanuga claims, the DSS and the military could ‘track’ the kidnappers in real time and ‘made 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? Why is kidnapping now reduced to a routine phone call between criminals and state officials?” the former vice president asked.
He added that the administration’s explanation suggests that “terrorists and 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,” Atiku said.
The abduction occurred on November 17, when armed assailants stormed the Government Girls’ Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, killing one staff member and kidnapping 25 students from their dormitory.
