Oyo school rescue: Atiku fires back at presidency over claims of silence

The Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed the Presidency’s claim that he remained silent following the rescue of the abducted Oyo State schoolchildren and teachers.

He described the allegation as a reckless distortion of facts that collapses under the weight of documentary evidence.

In a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said there were only two possible explanations for the Presidency’s outburst.

“In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said there are only two possible explanations for the Presidency’s latest outburst: either its media handlers were too lazy to acquaint themselves with publicly available facts before rushing to attack the opposition, or they were too embarrassed by the substance of his statement to acknowledge its existence,” the statement read.

The statement quoted Atiku as saying, “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 reaction followed comments by the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who had accused Atiku of failing to acknowledge the release of the pupils and teachers almost 18 hours after their rescue.

Onanuga had also faulted the former vice president for what he called a pattern of criticising the government over the abduction while commending the Labour Party’s Peter Obi for reacting to the development.

But Atiku insisted he had issued a comprehensive press statement earlier on Saturday, titled ‘A Nation at War Needs a Commander-in-Chief, Not a Campaigner-in-Chief’, in which he welcomed the rescue and commended the security agencies involved.

“For the benefit of Nigerians and to expose the falsehood being circulated by the Presidency, we reproduce below the relevant portions of that statement,” the statement added, referencing a screenshot excerpt attached to the release.

Atiku maintained that the reproduced excerpts exposed the Presidency’s allegation as entirely false. He said he had not only congratulated the security agencies but also praised their courage, professionalism and sacrifice.

“What we declined to do was to applaud a Commander-in-Chief who, at a defining moment of national importance, remained publicly preoccupied with partisan political activities instead of personally leading the nation in celebrating the success of our troops and reassuring families whose loved ones remain in captivity,” he said.

He added that no amount of propaganda could erase the questions raised in his earlier statement, pointing to children still held in Borno State and elsewhere.

“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.

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Atiku urged the Presidency to devote less energy to manufacturing controversies around opposition statements and more to confronting the security challenges facing the country.

“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,” he said.

He added that Nigerians deserved a Presidency focused on rescuing every citizen still in captivity rather than one preoccupied with misrepresenting the opposition.

The statement Atiku referenced, issued earlier on Saturday, had accused Tinubu of prioritising politics over national security.

In it, he argued that Nigeria needed a “Commander-in-Chief, not a Campaigner-in-Chief” at a time the country was battling terrorism, banditry and mass kidnappings.

He had noted that the rescue coincided with the launch of the All Progressives Congress’ door-to-door campaign ahead of the 2027 election, describing this as troubling.

“No serious government should be consumed by the politics of re-election while innocent schoolchildren have remained in the custody of kidnappers for weeks,” he said, adding that “yesterday should have been dedicated to the war room, not the campaign room.”

Atiku had also argued that Tinubu ought to have personally addressed the nation alongside the country’s defence chiefs immediately after the rescue, rather than leaving the announcement to his spokesman while he was engaged in political activities.

He said such a moment called for the President to brief Nigerians on the operation, acknowledge the bravery of the troops and reassure families that no effort would be spared to rescue those still in captivity.

While welcoming the development, he had cautioned against premature celebration, stressing that many Nigerians remained in captivity across the country.

“One successful rescue must not become an excuse for self-congratulation,” he said.

He called on the Federal Government to sustain military pressure on terrorists, kidnappers and bandits until every abducted Nigerian was freed.

Thirty-nine pupils and seven teachers were abducted on May 15 when gunmen attacked Community Grammar School, Ahoro-Esiele, and Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.

They were freed on Friday after 57 days in captivity, in an operation the Presidency said involved no negotiation with their abductors.