Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Tinubu administration of failing in its constitutional duty to protect lives and property, warning that the resurgence of killings across the North-Central has reached alarming levels.
Atiku, in a strongly worded statement on Tuesday, lamented that Kwara, once regarded as one of the safer states in the region, has now become a hotspot for kidnappings and bandit attacks.
He noted that Niger State had witnessed militants launch assaults on military bases, kill soldiers, and massacre worshippers in a mosque, while Plateau and Benue continue to grapple with mass burials of victims of violence.
“By May this year, just two years into Tinubu’s presidency, over 10,000 lives had been lost in Northern states, with Benue accounting for more than half.
Since then, mass killings continue weekly, while the government pretends nothing is wrong. This is a monumental failure of the basic duty of securing lives and property,” Atiku said.
The former presidential candidate alsol so accused the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, of focusing more on suppressing political opposition than tackling insecurity.
He alleged that thugs and hired hooligans were being deployed to disrupt opposition meetings in states such as Kaduna, Kebbi, and Ogun, with security agencies turning a blind eye or even blaming the victims.
“The silence of the APC leadership is proof of complicity. Violence is a vicious circle that will eventually consume those who use it. Any politician who needs violence to win is desperate, unpopular, and dangerous to democracy,” he added.
Atiku further reminded the Nigeria Police that their loyalty lies with the people and the Constitution, not with any political party.
“You are funded by taxpayers, not by the APC. Your duty is to remain neutral, fair, and constitutional. Anything less is betrayal of public trust,” he stressed.
