Atiku Blasts Tinubu Over Oyo Abduction, Katsina Killings

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, as well as the killing of residents in Katsina State, describing the incidents as evidence of what he called a “collapse of leadership” under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku expressed grief over the reported killing of one of the abducted teachers in the Oyo attack, warning that rising insecurity across the country reflects deepening weaknesses in Nigeria’s security architecture.

“At a time when armed criminals are abducting schoolchildren, slaughtering innocent citizens, and turning communities into graveyards, President Tinubu’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.

“Nigerians have heard this script too many times. It has become painfully predictable and utterly meaningless,”the statement read.

Atiku accused the Tinubu administration of responding to security crises with rhetoric rather than decisive action, saying official reactions have become repetitive and ineffective.

“President Tinubu must stop governing by obituary statements. Enough of the recycled outrage. Enough of the empty threats. Nigerians are dying, and this government keeps responding with press releases,” he said.

He argued that repeated attacks on schools and rural communities have emboldened criminal groups who now operate with growing confidence.

“A President who only finds his voice after blood has been spilt is not leading but presiding over failure,” Atiku stated.

According to him, the Oyo abduction and killings in Katsina reflect a broader national security breakdown, where armed groups no longer fear the Nigerian state.

“When terrorists can invade schools, abduct children and teachers, butcher pregnant women, sack entire communities, and disappear without consequence, it is because the authority of the state has collapsed,” he said.

Nigeria has continued to experience recurring kidnappings, banditry and mass killings, particularly in the North-West and North-Central regions, despite repeated assurances from the Federal Government that security agencies are making progress.

The Oyo incident has further heightened concerns over school safety, reviving memories of previous mass abductions in Kaduna, Zamfara and Niger States.

Atiku also criticised what he described as repeated official responses to violent attacks, arguing that condolences alone no longer reassure affected families.

“What comfort is ‘the full wrath of the law’ to families already burying their loved ones? What solace is another presidential statement to parents now terrified that sending their children to school may be a death sentence?” he asked.

He also raised concerns over alleged attempts to suppress graphic evidence of attacks from public view, describing such actions as troubling.

“If this government is indeed more interested in censoring evidence of mass killings than in preventing the killings themselves, then that is not merely incompetence — it is cruelty of the highest order,” he said.

Atiku called for the immediate rescue of all abducted victims in Oyo State, intensified security operations in vulnerable communities, and a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture.