Atiku accuses Tinubu’s aides of distorting facts over Oyo schoolchildren’s rescue

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has accused the Presidency of deliberately distorting facts by claiming that he remained silent after the rescue of abducted schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State.

The former vice president said the allegation was either the result of negligence by President Bola Tinubu’s media team or a deliberate attempt to ignore his earlier statement because it highlighted what he described as the President’s misplaced priorities.

In a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Mr Atiku described the Presidency’s claim as “a reckless distortion of facts” that could not stand in the face of documentary evidence.

“It is astonishing that a Presidency with limitless public resources could accuse someone of silence without carrying out the most basic verification. Either they failed to read our statement because they were too lazy to do so, or they deliberately ignored it because it exposed uncomfortable truths about their misplaced priorities,” the statement quoted Atiku as saying.

The former vice president maintained that contrary to the Presidency’s claims, he had earlier issued a statement titled “A Nation at War Needs a Commander-in-Chief, Not a Campaigner-in-Chief,” in which he welcomed the rescue of the Oyo schoolchildren, commended the Armed Forces and other security agencies for the operation, and called for sustained efforts to free Nigerians still being held captive.

According to Atiku, the statement praised the courage, professionalism and sacrifice of the security personnel involved in the rescue operation, describing the successful mission as a victory for the country’s armed forces and a source of hope for millions of Nigerians.

He, however, stressed that while the rescue deserved commendation, it should not distract the government from the plight of many other abducted Nigerians, particularly schoolchildren and other victims still in captivity in Borno State and other parts of the country.

“One successful rescue must not become an excuse for self-congratulation. A nation cannot celebrate while other parents still go to bed not knowing whether their children are alive or dead. Our work is not done until every abducted Nigerian is safely reunited with his or her family,” he said.

Atiku argued that the reproduced excerpts from his earlier statement effectively disproved the Presidency’s allegation that he had failed to acknowledge the rescue.

He said although he commended the military and security agencies, he deliberately refrained from praising President Tinubu because, in his view, the Commander-in-Chief was preoccupied with partisan political activities instead of personally leading the nation in celebrating the troops’ success and reassuring families of those still in captivity.

The ADC presidential candidate insisted that the fundamental questions raised in his earlier statement remained unanswered, particularly regarding the fate of abducted schoolchildren and other citizens still being held by terrorists and kidnappers.

“The rescue of the Oyo schoolchildren brought joy to the nation, but Nigerians are still asking: when will the children abducted in Borno and other innocent citizens across the country also regain their freedom? Those questions remain unanswered,” he said.

Atiku urged the Presidency to focus on addressing Nigeria’s worsening security situation rather than engaging in what he described as attempts to manufacture controversies around opposition statements.

“A government secure in its performance does not invent silence where there was a documented public statement. It responds to legitimate concerns with facts and results, not propaganda. Nigerians deserve a Presidency focused on rescuing every citizen still in captivity rather than one preoccupied with monitoring and misrepresenting the opposition,” the statement added.