By Abiola Olawale
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticized the Federal Government’s framing of the recently secured release of abducted schoolgirls in Kebbi State, asserting that the girls’ freedom is not an achievement but an indictment of Nigeria’s insecurity.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Atiku dismissed the government’s narrative as a “shameful attempt to whitewash a national tragedy.”
He argued that the return of the students from the Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, should be seen as a “damning reminder that terrorists now operate freely, negotiate openly, and dictate terms.”
Atiku also slammed the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, for his comments during an interview on Arise News TV on 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.
But 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 ‘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? 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 New Diplomat reports that 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.
One girl escaped shortly after, leaving 24 in captivity until their release on Tuesday.
