African Democratic Congress, on Wednesday, lambasted the Federal Government over the handling of recent kidnappings across the country.
The ADC warned that negotiating with bandits is a dangerous path that undermines national security.
In a statement on Wednesday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said that while it rejoices with families whose loved ones were freed, including worshippers abducted from Christ Apostolic Church, Oke-Isegun in Kwara State, and students kidnapped in Kebbi, the government must answer hard questions.
ADC argued that these abductions should never have happened if the government was alive to its constitutional responsibilities.
It accused the President Bola Tinubu-led administration of being distracted by politics and reacting only when embarrassed internationally.
The statement partly read, “While we are delighted that these citizens can finally reunite with their families, we must reiterate our long-standing position that these abductions should never have occurred in the first place if the government were alive to its constitutional responsibilities.
“What the country is witnessing today is the consequence of an administration distracted by politics and behaving less like a democratic government and more like an occupying force. It is telling that it took a chastening comment from President Trump to provoke even the slightest response from our government.
“Yet, even as we welcome the safe return of the victims, we remain deeply concerned about the opaque and troubling manner in which their release was secured.”
ADC said the circumstances surrounding the victims’ release remain unclear, adding that the conflicting statements from top officials show the Federal Government is not being honest with Nigerians.
It expressed deep concern over comments from security leaders suggesting that kidnappers were not arrested because they voluntarily came out for peace talks.
The statement added, “It is alarming that a presidential spokesman reportedly claimed the victims were freed because security operatives asked them nicely.”
ADC questioned whether the government is paying ransom or entering agreements with violent groups that have killed innocent Nigerians.
“This raises serious questions: Is the Nigerian government paying ransom to insurgents? What exactly was exchanged for the so-called surrender of weapons by the kidnappers? And if these bandits truly surrendered weapons, what prevents them from simply acquiring new ones and continuing their criminal enterprise, if they are not going to be arrested and brought to face justice? What happened to the people they shot and killed in cold blood? Where is justice for the families of those victims if their murderers are allowed to go scot-free because government needs a quick-win to celebrate?
The ADC further stated that if the government has chosen negotiation as its main response to insurgency and rising kidnappings, then the country is headed in a dangerous direction.
It described the approach as a shortcut that avoids confronting the crisis properly. By indulging armed groups instead of dismantling them, the party said, the government is helping widen the banditry economy.
On the recent closure of Unity Schools following multiple abductions, the party warned that shutting down learning centres plays directly into the ideology of extremists.
“By closing schools, the government is reinforcing the very ideology Boko Haram was built upon,” the statement said.
The ADC added that the government appears unable to determine the exact number of children kidnapped in different states in the past week, calling this a damning indictment of its competence.
The party faulted the alleged abandonment of the Safe Schools Initiative and urged the government to deploy the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to all Federal Unity Schools to allow immediate reopening.
“The more we capitulate, the more ground we lose as a nation. Every day that schools remain closed, terrorists grow bolder, communities grow more fearful, and Nigeria drifts further from the promise of security and stability. A country that cannot protect its children cannot protect its future.”
”Reopen the schools. Secure the schools. Bring our children home,” it said.
