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The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has strongly condemned the abduction of schoolchildren and their teachers in Oyo State, describing the incident as a stark reflection of Nigeria’s worsening security situation.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president said the latest kidnapping underscores what he described as the government’s inability to effectively tackle insecurity.
Atiku criticised reports that government officials visited affected families with relief materials, insisting that such gestures fail to address the urgent concerns of parents whose children remain in captivity.
“The cruelty of such a response is difficult to comprehend. Parents whose children have been torn from their arms are not asking for rice. Mothers who do not know whether their children are hungry, sick, traumatised, or even alive are not demanding palliatives.
“Fathers who wake up every morning praying for a phone call announcing the safe return of their children are not looking for handouts. What these families need is action. What they need is leadership. What they need is a government capable of rescuing their children and bringing the criminals responsible to justice,” he said.
The former vice president lamented what he described as a growing trend of inadequate responses to security challenges, stressing that the impact of kidnappings extends beyond statistics to affect entire families and communities.
“It is a damning verdict on this government that while criminals operate with audacity and freedom, innocent schoolchildren are abducted from their classrooms, and the official response is the distribution of rice.
“This is not governance. This is an abdication of responsibility. It is a tragic confession of failure by an administration that seems increasingly overwhelmed by the very duties it swore to perform,” he stated.
Atiku further noted that behind every abducted child are traumatised families and communities living in fear and uncertainty.
“These children are not numbers on a government spreadsheet. They are the hopes of families. They are the future of our nation. Every hour they spend in captivity is an hour too many,” he added.
He warned that persistent insecurity has created widespread fear across the country, with many Nigerians now living under constant threat.
“Today, many Nigerian parents budget for ransom the same way they budget for school fees. Farmers fear their farms. Travellers fear the highways.
Communities fear the night.
“A nation cannot survive when its citizens are abandoned to criminals, and its leaders respond with public relations gimmicks,” he said.
The former vice president called on President Bola Tinubu to direct security and intelligence agencies to deploy all available resources to secure the release of the abducted pupils and teachers.
“The government must stop treating these tragedies as routine news items. The captors must be hunted down, arrested, prosecuted, and made examples of. There must be consequences for those who prey on innocent Nigerians,” he said.
Atiku concluded by demanding the immediate and safe return of all abducted victims.
“Bring the children home. Bring their teachers home. Arrest their captors. Secure our schools. Restore confidence in the ability of the state to protect its citizens. Anything less is unacceptable,” he stated.
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