Abuja, Sept. 2, 2025 — Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of failing to address worsening insecurity in the North-Central, alleging that the region has been “abandoned to bloodshed.”

In a statement shared on his official X handle on Tuesday, Atiku warned that the spate of killings in states across the North-Central underscores what he described as the government’s neglect of its constitutional duty to protect citizens.

“The resurgence of killings in the North-Central shows clearly that the Tinubu administration has abandoned the region to bloodshed,” Atiku said.

The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cited recent attacks in Kwara, Niger, Plateau, and Benue States, where banditry, terrorism, and communal violence have left thousands dead.

He alleged that Kwara, once relatively safe, has now become a hotspot for kidnappings, while Niger has witnessed militant assaults on military bases and the killing of worshippers inside a mosque. He further noted that Plateau and Benue continue to suffer mass killings with little federal response.

Atiku claimed that by May 2025, more than 10,000 lives had been lost in Northern states, with Benue State accounting for more than half of those casualties. “Mass killings have continued on a weekly basis since then,” he said, calling the situation “a monumental failure in the basic duty of securing lives and property.”

APC Accused of Political Complicity

Beyond security, Atiku also accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of weaponising state power to suppress opposition politics. He alleged that APC loyalists used “thugs, infiltrators and hired hooligans” to disrupt political meetings in Kaduna, Kebbi and Ogun States.

He further claimed that security operatives sometimes failed to intervene, or even blamed victims of such disruptions. “The silence of APC leadership is proof of complicity,” Atiku asserted.

The former vice president urged the Nigeria Police Force to remain neutral, stressing that they are “funded by taxpayers, not by the APC.”

Wider Criticism of FG Security Strategy

Atiku’s remarks come amid growing national criticism of the Federal Government’s handling of insecurity. Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai alleged on Sunday that the Tinubu administration has been paying incentives to bandits through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), a claim ONSA has strongly denied.

The security agency described the allegation as “false, baseless and insulting” to the memory of operatives who have lost their lives in counter-terrorism operations.

With rural and communal violence showing no signs of abating, the opposition is increasingly framing insecurity as one of the Tinubu administration’s most glaring failures.