Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately deploy all security and intelligence agencies to secure the release of abducted pupils and teachers in Oyo State.
Atiku said any government unable to protect schoolchildren had failed one of the most fundamental tests of leadership.
In a statement issued through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president criticised reports that government officials delivered bags of rice and other palliatives to families of the victims.
He described the move as insensitive and evidence of a failure to address the real crisis confronting the affected families.
Atiku said: “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.”
The former vice president said the abduction highlighted what he described as the worsening security situation in the country under the current administration.
According to him, criminal groups were operating freely while innocent schoolchildren continued to face attacks and abductions.
Atiku said: “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 warned against normalising insecurity, saying many Nigerians now live in fear and uncertainty.
The former vice president added that there must be consequences for those responsible for violent crimes across the country.
He said: “There must be consequences for those who prey on innocent Nigerians.
“Anything less will only embolden other criminal gangs and place more communities in danger.”
Atiku further stated that Nigerians were growing weary of explanations and assurances from government officials without visible results.
He maintained that if the government could no longer guarantee the safety of schoolchildren, it should acknowledge its shortcomings rather than offer what he described as token gestures to grieving families.
The call comes amid growing concern over the fate of abducted pupils and teachers in Oyo State and increasing pressure on security agencies to secure their safe return.
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