“You cannot govern by hiding corpses” – Atiku blasts Tinubu over incessant killings

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has slammed President Bola Tinubu’s administration over its handling of Nigeria’s worsening security crisis.

Atiku’s criticism comes on the heels of the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, and the killing of civilians in Katsina State, including a pregnant woman.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president described the incidents as symptoms of a deeper “collapse of leadership”.

He also accused Tinubu’s government of prioritising press statements over effective action that should deal with the insecurity challenges faced by the country.

“At a time when armed criminals are abducting schoolchildren, slaughtering innocent citizens, and turning communities into graveyards, President Tinubu’s response remains the same tired ritual: condemn the killings, threaten that the perpetrators will face the ‘full wrath of the law,’ and then wait for the next massacre,” the statement read.

According to Atiku, Nigerians have grown weary of what he called “recycled outrage” and “empty threats,” arguing that the President only speaks after these tragedies occur.

“You cannot govern by hiding corpses. If this government is indeed more interested in censoring evidence of mass killings than in preventing the killings themselves, then that is not merely incompetence — it is cruelty of the highest order,” Atiku said.

The former Vice President warned that the repeated attacks reflect a loss of state authority, with criminals operating freely because they no longer fear consequences.

He also described the situation as “a moral failure, a leadership failure, and a national disgrace.”

Atiku called on the federal government to immediately rescue the remaining abducted victims in Oyo State, intensify security in vulnerable communities, and undertake a comprehensive reform of the nation’s security architecture.