…Warn of expanding banditry economy
The African Democratic Congress, (ADC), and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, yesterday delivered stinging rebukes to the Federal Government over what they described as the administration’s troubling reliance on negotiation with terrorists and bandits – a practice they warn is deepening Nigeria’s insecurity crisis.
Rising from its coalition meeting in Abuja, the ADC accused the Tinubu administration of enabling a “banditry economy” through policies and actions that embolden criminal groups. National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the Federal Government’s approach – from school closures to secretive negotiations – amounted to “appeasement of insurgents”, rather than decisive security leadership.
Abdullahi argued that the recent rescue of kidnapped worshippers in Kwara and schoolchildren in Kebbi, while welcome, should never have been necessary. “These abductions should never have occurred in the first place if the government were alive to its constitutional responsibilities,” he said.
The ADC expressed shock over contradictory government statements regarding the release of abductees. It cited comments from the Inspector-General of Police admitting the perpetrators of the Kwara church attack were not arrested because they “came out voluntarily for peace talks,” as well as remarks by Presidential Spokesman Bayo Onanuga suggesting that abductors complied simply because the Government “asked them nicely”.
“This raises serious questions”, ADC warned. “Is the Nigerian government paying ransom? What exactly was exchanged for the so-called surrender of weapons? And what prevents these bandits from replacing their weapons and continuing their criminal enterprise if they are not arrested and prosecuted?”
The party condemned the government for quietly negotiating with terrorists while shutting down schools as a protective measure – a move it said signalled surrender to Boko Haram’s ideology. “A government that negotiates with insurgents and closes schools has effectively conceded ground to terror”, Abdullahi declared.
Meanwhile, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar launched his own fierce critique, describing Onanuga’s public defence of the government’s actions as “shameful” and an attempt to whitewash national tragedy.
Reacting to Onanuga’s revelation that security agencies contacted the bandits who abducted 38 worshippers in Kwara before their release, Atiku questioned why such criminals were neither arrested nor neutralised if their locations were known.
“Why is kidnapping now reduced to a routine phone call between criminals and state officials?” Atiku asked, in a statement titled: ‘Nigerians Need Protection, Not Fairy Tales By Moonlight’.
He accused the Tinubu administration of allowing terrorists to “operate freely, negotiate openly, and dictate terms” while the presidency “celebrates their compliance”. According to him, “No responsible government congratulates itself for negotiating with terrorists it claims to be tracking”.
Atiku said Onanuga’s narrative either exposed government complicity or revealed an attempt to mask grave security failures. “Either way, it is an embarrassing admission that this administration has lost control of national security,” he said.
Both the ADC and Atiku urged the Federal Government to abandon what they see as a dangerous dependence on negotiation and to adopt a decisive, transparent, and uncompromising approach to tackling insurgency, banditry, and rising nationwide kidnappings.
