Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu over the rising insecurity in the country, saying Nigeria is now being marked by repeated condemnations from government rather than concrete action.
Atiku made the remarks while reacting to recent attacks and abductions in parts of Oyo and Katsina states, which left several people dead and others kidnapped, including schoolchildren and teachers.
In a statement issued through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the killings and kidnappings across the country show what he described as a failure of leadership at the highest level.
He said the government’s response to repeated tragedies has become predictable and ineffective.
“At a time when armed criminals are abducting schoolchildren, killing innocent citizens and turning communities into graveyards, the President’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,” he said.
Atiku added that Nigerians were becoming tired of what he called recycled outrage.
According to him, statements issued after each attack no longer carry meaning.
“Nigerians have heard this script too many times. It has become painfully predictable and utterly meaningless,” he said.
He further criticised what he described as a pattern where the government only speaks after lives have been lost.
“A president who only finds his voice after blood has been spilled is not leading; he is presiding over failure,” he added.
The former vice president also said the worsening security situation shows that criminal groups now operate with confidence because they no longer fear the state.
“When terrorists can invade schools, abduct children and teachers, kill pregnant women and sack entire communities without consequence, it means the authority of the state has collapsed,” he said.
Atiku also expressed concern over reports suggesting attempts to control or suppress images and information about violent incidents, warning that such actions would be dangerous for democracy.
“If this government is more interested in censoring evidence of mass killings than preventing them, then that is not just incompetence it is cruelty of the highest order,” he said.
He called for urgent action to rescue abducted victims, strengthen security responses, and overhaul what he described as the country’s failing security system.
Insecurity: Nigeria under Tinubu marked by recycled condemnations, not action – Atiku
