Kebbi Schoolgirls’ Release Is No Cause For Celebration — Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has taken a swipe at the Federal Government over the rescue of the abducted schoolgirls in Kebbi State, arguing that their release is no cause for celebration but a sign of Nigeria’s deteriorating security climate.

In a statement from his media team on Wednesday, Atiku insisted that the development should not be framed as a government success.

According to the former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the return of the schoolchildren underscores how emboldened criminal groups have become.

Ue described the development as “a damning reminder that terrorists now operate freely, negotiate openly, and dictate terms while this administration issues press statements to save face.”

His remarks were directed at comments made by the Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, during an appearance on Arise News TV on Monday. Onanuga.

Onanuga had credited the rescue to coordinated efforts by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the military, saying the agencies monitored the kidnappers’ movements and made contact to retrieve the girls without paying ransom.

Atiku, however, maintained that the underlying issue remains the growing audacity of criminal groups and the government’s inability to prevent such abductions in the first place.

Onanuga had claimed that security agencies were well aware of the identities and locations of the bandits, saying their operations were restricted by the presence of civilians in the affected communities.

He explained that forces must exercise extreme caution to avoid harming innocent residents.

“Our people are living around where they operate,” he said. “So you can’t just go there. They need to be very careful that in the course of chasing these bandits, they don’t go and bomb innocent Nigerians.”

However, Atiku dismissed the explanation entirely, describing it as “a shameful effort to polish over a national disaster and disguise government failure as some form of achievement.”

He argued that Onanuga’s comments only raised deeper concerns about the government’s response. “If, as Onanuga claims, the DSS and the military were able to ‘track’ the kidnappers in real time and even ‘made contact’ with them, then why were these criminals not apprehended, neutralised, or taken down immediately?”

“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?” he asked.

The former vice president further argued that the government’s explanation implies that terrorists now operate like an “alternative government,” freely negotiating, collecting ransom, and escaping without consequences.

He maintained that no serious nation praises itself for engaging with criminals it claims to be monitoring, nor does a responsible administration celebrate scenarios where kidnappers simply return to the forests to strike again.