President Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for failing to publicly react to the rescue of the pupils and teachers abducted from Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, nearly 18 hours after they regained their freedom.
In a post shared on his official social media account on Saturday, Onanuga alleged that Atiku had repeatedly used the kidnapping incident to criticise President Bola Tinubu’s administration while remaining silent after the victims were rescued.
According to him, the former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate had yet to congratulate the Federal Government, security agencies or the victims following the successful rescue operation.
“Almost 18 hours after the Oriire pupils and their teachers regained their freedom, Atiku Abubakar @atiku has not deemed it fit to rejoice with the Tinubu Federal Government, the security agencies and the traumatised victims,” Onanuga wrote.
He further claimed that Atiku had previously “weaponised the kidnap as a campaign issue several times since it happened 57 days ago.”
“Now that the abductees are out, all is quiet on Atiku’s internet lane. No comment. No words of praise. Maybe the veteran presidential runner is waiting for some bad news to attack the Tinubu administration,” he added.
Onanuga, however, acknowledged the reaction of Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, noting that Obi had issued a statement welcoming the safe return of the victims and called for thanksgiving.
“Kudos to Peter Obi: at least he has spoken and called for thanksgiving without commending the commander-in-chief,” the presidential spokesman stated.
The rescued pupils and teachers were freed following coordinated security operations after spending 57 days in captivity.
The rescue has drawn reactions from political leaders and Nigerians, with renewed calls for stronger measures to curb the growing threat of kidnappings, particularly those targeting schools and vulnerable communities.
