Atiku Condemns Renewed Plateau Killings, Says Tinubu’s Security Policy Has ‘Failed Woefully’
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly condemned the resurgence of deadly attacks in Plateau State, describing the security strategy of the Tinubu-led administration as a “woeful failure.”
At least 47 people were reported killed on Sunday in Zike community, Kimakpa area of Kwali district in Bassa Local Government Area, Plateau State. The attack came just over a week after a similar massacre in Bokkos Local Government Area, where scores were also killed and properties destroyed.
Atiku also decried the escalating terrorist violence in Borno State, highlighting recent concerns raised by Governor Babagana Zulum and the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai El-Kanemi, about the loss of lives and territory to Boko Haram insurgents.
“These manifestations are indicative of the woeful failure of both the security policy and infrastructure of the Tinubu-led administration,” Atiku said in a statement.
He called on the Federal Government to adopt tougher and more proactive measures to address what he described as “disgraceful incidents that challenge our national security.”
Reacting to the broader insecurity plaguing the country, Atiku stated, “Every sincere Nigerian should be worried about the frequency and impunity with which terrorists and bandits attack innocent people in the country, especially in Northern Nigeria, which has become the epicenter of terrorist violence.”
The former Vice President criticized the government’s failure to prosecute terrorists and bandits arrested since 2016, arguing that the lack of judicial action has emboldened attackers.
“If the government had applied the same energy in the prosecution of terrorists and bandits as it did in the trial of political critics, it would have gone a long way to send a powerful message to the outlaws that there are consequences for mass murder,” he said.
Atiku called for the establishment of special courts to fast-track the trials of terrorists and bandits, emphasizing that the delay in justice “is demoralizing to our security forces.”
“Hundreds of terrorists and bandits have been in custody since 2016 without trial,” he noted. “If terrorists and bandits are captured and then left in custody longer than necessary without trial, it will undermine the efforts and sacrifices of our security forces.”
He further warned that the slow pace of the country’s criminal justice system is encouraging criminal elements. “Our criminal justice system is notoriously slow and, as a result, terrorists and bandits are thus encouraged to feel that crime pays,” he stated.
The Waziri of Adamawa also expressed dismay over how armed groups are able to cross the nation’s borders to carry out terrorist activities.
“Condemnation is not enough,” Atiku added. “What is needed are prompt and proactive measures to forestall further attacks and loss of innocent lives.”
He concluded by warning that as long as criminal groups continue to act without consequence, “they will continue to attack innocent people again and again.”
