The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has launched a scathing attack on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration over the worsening state of insecurity in the country, describing the killing of a kidnapped teacher in Oyo State as evidence of what it called the Federal Government’s failure to protect Nigerians.
In a strongly worded statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the opposition party said the abduction of staff and pupils from three schools in Oyo State, and the subsequent killing of one of the victims, highlighted what it termed the “helplessness” of the APC-led administration in tackling insecurity across the country.
Bandits had invaded the Esiele community in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State last Friday, abducting students, pupils and staff members from Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School. President Tinubu had earlier condemned the reported killing of one of the abducted teachers and assured Nigerians that security agencies were intensifying rescue operations to free the remaining victims.
Reacting to the development, the PDP said insecurity under the current administration had moved beyond being a national crisis to becoming “the lived reality” of ordinary citizens.
“Under this administration, insecurity is no longer a crisis in Nigeria, it is now the lived reality of our citizens. What was once an alarming anomaly has been normalised by a government that has demonstrated, repeatedly, that it lacks either the capacity to fight it or the will to reverse it,” the statement read.
The opposition party further argued that repeated kidnappings across the country had created what it described as a “ransom economy” that had drained trillions of naira from Nigerians, while accusing the Federal Government of relying on “performative assurances” rather than decisive action.
“We charge the government to move beyond their vintage performative assurances of bringing culprits to book. Instead, they should deploy practical, sustained, and results-driven security interventions. Not press releases or condolences only,” Ememobong stated.
The PDP warned that the growing attacks on educational institutions posed a grave threat to the nation’s future, especially at a time Nigeria already grapples with one of the world’s highest out-of-school children populations.
“The targeting of schools is not incidental. It is a direct assault on Nigeria’s future. For a country already carrying one of the highest out-of-school child populations in the world, every attack on a school deepens a crisis that was already at emergency levels,” the statement added.
The party said continued attacks on schools could further reduce school attendance and literacy levels nationwide, warning that the long-term implications for national development could be severe.
The PDP also accused the Tinubu administration of focusing more attention on suppressing political opposition than addressing the country’s deteriorating security situation.
“We admonish the President to deploy even half the energy, tact, and strategies he and his team invest in constricting the political space against the opposition, toward building a security architecture that protects lives,” the statement said.
Calling for a broader strategy to combat insecurity, the party advocated a “whole-of-society approach” backed by political will, community engagement, and stronger institutional coordination.
“The government must choose between taking on security headlong or owning up to its failure,” Ememobong declared.
