Atiku condemns killings, abductions in Benue, others

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has decried the state of insecurity and condemned the killings in Benue, as well as the abductions in Kaduna and Borno States.

Bandits kidnapped more than 280 pupils and teachers from Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School in Kuriga, Kaduna State, last Thursday.

This incident happened just a day after insurgents abducted 200 internally displaced women in Borno State.

In his response, Atiku, in a statement on Friday, lamented that the problem of insecurity in Nigeria is worsening day by day, describing it as a clear manifestation of governance failure.

According to the former Vice President, “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 terrorized territories on earth.

He stated, “Within one week, there have been many reported cases of mass abduction of hapless citizens in the Northwest, Northeast and North-central 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-toting 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. Just yesterday, scores of people were killed during a massacre at Wa-ndoo, a community in Mbalom, Gwer-East Local Government Area of Benue State.

“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.”

Atiku, expressing sympathy for the victims and their families, urged security agencies to step up and safeguard Nigerians from bandits and terrorists.

The statement read in part, “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 the 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.”