Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has decried the worsening security situation in the country, while accusing the All Progressives Congress-led government of playing ostrich while the country burns.
Calling on security agencies to rise up to the challenge and save innocent citizens from the horrors of banditry and terrorism, Atiku, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 general elections said cases of insecurity are endless, and the problem seems “interminable”.
SaharaReporters reported on Wednesday that over 200 residents, mostly women were kidnapped in Borno State last week.
It had been reported that the women were taken into custody by suspected Boko Haram jihadists while searching for firewood in the forest of Gamboru Ngala.
SaharaReporters also reported on Thursday that bandits abducted over 200 primary and secondary school students with their teachers in Kuriga, Kaduna State.
It was reported that residents scampered for safety as the hoodlums shot sporadically.
Locals had said the headteacher of the school and some other staff were among the victims.
Reacting to the worsening insecurity, in a statement issued on Friday, Atiku said the All Progressives Congress (APC) controlled government had failed woefully to give the people the basic things expected of a responsive government.
He said, “The problem of insecurity in Nigeria is getting worse by the day. The media has been awash with terrifying news of banditry, kidnapping, and bloodletting that has turned our country into perhaps one of the most terrorised territories on earth.
“Within one week, there have been many reported cases of mass abduction of hapless citizens in the Northwest and Northeast regions of our country.
“In the early hours of Thursday, school children numbering over 280, together with their teachers, were abducted in Kunga, Kaduna State, by bandits riding on motorcycles, without any challenge by security agencies.
“Earlier in the week, it was reported that scores of women and children fetching firewood were abducted by gun-totting bandits suspected to be members of Boko Haram. It was also reported that over 200 people, mostly women and children, were abducted from the IDP camp in Ngala in Borno State.”
The former Vice President lamented that the Bola Tinubu government had continued to play the ostrich while the nation is plagued by insecurity.
“The cases are endless, and the problem seems interminable. The APC-controlled government has failed woefully to give the people the basic things expected of a responsive government. It is a clear manifestation of the failure of governance.
“The government has continued to play the ostrich while the nation is plagued by insecurity. While the weak and vulnerable are neglected, the government is making empty rhetoric about reforms. And while our young men are abducted, killed, or conscripted into the army of the terrorists and our women and girls are ravished and subjected to different forms of gender-based violence, the authorities do nothing.
“This is in negation of the constitutionally guaranteed commitment that the security and welfare of citizens is the primary responsibility of government.
“I stand in solidarity with my fellow citizens and sympathise with the victims and their families. I urge the security agencies to rise up to the challenge and save innocent citizens from the horrors of banditry and terrorism.”
