Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Wednesday criticised the Federal Government, accusing President Bola Tinubu’s administration of enabling terrorists and bandits to operate as an “alternate authority” in parts of the country.

Atiku, in a statement issued by his media office, faulted comments made by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, during a television interview where he defended the government’s non-kinetic approach to securing the release of abducted Nigerians.

The former vice president described Onanuga’s remarks as “a shameful attempt to mask a national tragedy and repackage government incompetence as achievement,” insisting that the administration has normalised a pattern in which criminals negotiate freely and retreat unchallenged after their operations.

Atiku said the celebration of the release of kidnapped schoolgirls by government officials does not signify progress but reflects the growing boldness of violent groups.

“The release of abducted Nigerians is not a trophy moment,” he said. “It is a stark reminder that terrorists now move unhindered, negotiate openly, and dictate terms while the government issues statements to save face.”

He questioned Onanuga’s assertion that security agencies were able to track the kidnappers in real time.

“If the DSS and the military truly tracked these criminals and even made contact with them, why were they neither apprehended nor neutralised?” he asked, adding that the government’s narrative reduces kidnapping to “a routine phone call between criminals and state officials.”

Atiku warned that allowing abductors to escape unchallenged only guarantees repeated attacks and erodes public trust in the nation’s security architecture.

“No responsible government boasts of negotiating with criminals it claims to have under surveillance,” he said. “If security agencies indeed had eyes on the kidnappers, letting them walk away is a national disgrace. If they did not, then Onanuga is merely manufacturing lies to cover up leadership failure.”

He maintained that Nigerians deserve “real protection, not propaganda or fairy tales.