Atiku slams Tinubu over rising insecurity as Kwara villagers flee bandit attacks

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has issued a scathing criticism of the Bola Tinubu administration, accusing it of failing to tackle Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, following renewed bandit attacks in Kwara State that have forced entire communities to flee their homes.

Atiku, in a statement posted on his Facebook page on Tuesday, said that by May 2025 — two years into Tinubu’s presidency — more than 10,000 people had been killed across northern Nigeria, with Benue State alone accounting for over half of the casualties.

He described the security situation as a “monumental failure” and warned that the North-Central region had been abandoned to escalating violence.

“The resurgence of killings in the North-Central shows clearly that the Tinubu administration has abandoned the region to bloodshed. Kwara, once safe, is now a hotspot of bandit and kidnap attacks.

Niger State has seen militants attack military bases, murder soldiers, and even massacre worshippers in a mosque. Plateau and Benue continue to bury their dead while the Federal Government looks away,” Atiku declared.

He further lamented that abductions and killings have now become a weekly occurrence, accusing the government of ignoring the crisis.

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Instead of confronting the security challenge, Atiku alleged, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was using thugs and infiltrators to disrupt opposition meetings in states including Kaduna, Kebbi, and Ogun, while security agencies failed to intervene.

“The silence of the APC leadership is proof of complicity,” Atiku said, urging the police and other security forces to remain neutral and uphold their constitutional responsibilities. “You are funded by taxpayers, not by the APC. Anything less is a betrayal of public trust,” he added.

His comments followed reports that residents of Ndanakun village in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State had fled after repeated bandit raids.

A retiree from the community, confirming a viral five-minute video of the ordeal, said: “Our people are scattered; we don’t know when it will be safe to return.”

The latest attacks have deepened fears. On Sunday, August 31, armed men invaded Sabongeri village near Ndanakun, killing two people and abducting one. A day earlier, during Ishai prayers in Patigi town, gunmen stormed a mosque, attempting to abduct 45-year-old Alhaji Dahiru.

He resisted and was shot dead on the spot, while the attackers fled on motorcycles. Police later recovered two AK-47 shells at the scene.

Relatives of Dahiru have since appealed to authorities to release his body for Islamic burial.

The incidents add to a wave of violent attacks across the North-Central, raising questions about the government’s strategy and commitment to restoring security in one of Nigeria’s most volatile regions.