Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has berated the Federal Government over its handling of the release of the abducted schoolgirls in Maga, Kebbi State, saying that the rescue is not a time for celebration.

Atiku in a statement through his media office in Abuja on Wednesday said the comments credited to the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga’s on Arise News TV on the freedom of the Kebbi school girls is “to say the least a shameful attempt to whitewash a national tragedy and dress up government incompetence as heroism.”

The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in the last election said the release of abducted Nigerians is “not a trophy moment; it is a damning reminder that terrorists now operate freely, negotiate openly, and dictate terms while this administration issues press statements to save face.”

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Atiku explained that, “if, as Onanuga claims, the DSS and the military could “track” the kidnappers in real time and “made contact” with them, then the question is simple: Why were these criminals not arrested, neutralised, or dismantled on the spot? Why is the government boasting about talking to terrorists instead of eliminating them?”

The opposition leader wondered why kidnapping has now been reduced to a “routine phone call between criminals and state officials?”

Atiku who recently pitched his tent with the coalition African Democratic Congress, ADC said, “Under Tinubu, terrorrist/bandits have become an alternative government negotiating, collecting ransom, and walking away untouched while the presidency celebrates their “compliance.”

“No serious nation applauds itself for negotiating with terrorists it claims to have under surveillance. No responsible government congratulates itself for allowing abductors to walk back into the forests to kidnap again.

“Onanuga and his ilk should stop insulting Nigerians with propaganda. If the security agencies truly had eyes on the kidnappers, then letting them escape is a national disgrace that smacks of complicity. And if they did not have such capacity, then Onanuga is simply manufacturing lies to cover up a monumental failure of leadership.

“Either way, the statement is an embarrassing admission that this administration has lost control of national security and is now trying to spin incompetence into achievement.” Atiku said.