Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government over worsening insecurity, particularly in Kwara State, where bandits have reportedly sacked a community in Patigi Local Government Area.
In a statement on his Facebook page on Tuesday, Atiku lamented what he described as the administration’s “monumental failure” to protect citizens, warning that violence in the North-Central had reached alarming levels.
He said, “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 noted that by May 2025, just two years into Tinubu’s presidency, over 10,000 lives had been lost in northern states, with Benue accounting for more than half.
He added that killings and abductions had persisted weekly, while the government “pretends nothing is wrong.”
“Instead of fighting insecurity, the ruling APC is fighting the opposition using thugs, infiltrators, and hired hooligans to break up political meetings in Kaduna, Kebbi, and Ogun. In each case, security forces failed to act and even blamed the victims. The silence of the APC leadership is proof of complicity,” he said.
Atiku also called out the Nigeria Police, warning them against partisanship.
“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 stated.
His comments came amid reports that residents of Ndanakun village in Patigi LGA have deserted their homes after repeated bandit attacks.
A five-minute, 41-second video showed a narrator lamenting the plight of the villagers, who have endured raids that left residents dead, farmlands destroyed, livestock stolen, and many abducted. Locals said the attacks had occurred at least four times in the past two months.
A native of the area, a retiree who pleaded anonymity, confirmed the video and said most villagers had fled to different parts of Kwara and Niger states. “Our people are scattered, we don’t know when it will be safe to return,” he said.
On Sunday, August 31, armed men invaded Sabongeri village near Ndanakun, killing two people and abducting another. Similarly, during evening prayers on Friday, August 30, bandits stormed a mosque in Patigi and shot dead 45-year-old Alhaji Dahiru during a failed kidnap attempt.
Eyewitnesses said no fewer than seven gunmen invaded the mosque at about 8:30 p.m. during Ishai prayers and tried to whisk Dahiru away. When he resisted, they shot him dead before escaping on motorcycles. Security operatives later recovered two AK-47 shells at the scene.
Relatives of the deceased have since appealed for his body to be released for burial in line with Islamic rites.
Meanwhile, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq convened a security council meeting on Monday with heads of security agencies to review clearance operations against non-state actors. His Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, said the meeting discussed arrests, prosecutions, and recovery of arms across the state.
The governor commended security operatives for their sacrifices, saying, “We appreciate the sacrifices you make every day to protect lives and property. You deserve all the support you can get.”
He also urged residents to remain vigilant and share intelligence with security agencies to strengthen the fight against banditry.
