The Federal Government’s rescue of abducted schoolgirls in Kebbi State has drawn criticism from former vice president Atiku Abubakar, who claims that the girls’ release should not be seen as a victory but rather as proof of Nigeria’s deteriorating security situation.
Atiku stated that the schoolgirls’ return was “not a trophy moment” but rather “a damning reminder that terrorists now operate freely, negotiate openly, and dictate terms while this administration issues press statements to save face” in a statement released by his media office on Wednesday.
The statement was a reaction to remarks made on Monday in an interview with Arise News TV by Presidential Special Advisor on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the presidential aide, although security operatives have the necessary intelligence, their operations are often constrained by the risk of collateral damage to civilians being held 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.
This comes after a video surfaced online in which bandits boldly claimed that the government negotiated with them before the girls were released.
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