Rescued Oyo victims: ‘You’re either lazy or embarrassed’ — Atiku fires back at Presidency

The former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has rejected claims by the Presidency that he remained silent following the rescue of abducted schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State, insisting that he had publicly welcomed the development and commended security agencies.

The position was contained in a statement issued on July 11, 2026, by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

According to the statement, Atiku described the Presidency’s allegation as false, arguing that documentary evidence showed he had earlier issued a statement on the rescue operation.

Shaibu stated that Atiku believed the Presidency either failed to verify publicly available information or deliberately ignored his earlier statement.

“It is astonishing that a Presidency with limitless public resources could accuse someone of silence without carrying out the most basic verification. Either they failed to read our statement because they were too lazy to do so, or they deliberately ignored it because it exposed uncomfortable truths about their misplaced priorities.”

The statement maintained that Atiku’s earlier message, titled “A Nation at War Needs a Commander-in-Chief, Not a Campaigner-in-Chief,” welcomed the rescue of the pupils, commended the Armed Forces and other security agencies, and called for continued efforts to secure the release of other Nigerians still in captivity.

“For the benefit of Nigerians and to expose the falsehood being circulated by the Presidency, we reproduce below the relevant portions of that statement.”

Shaibu added that while Atiku praised the efforts of security personnel, he questioned what he described as the President’s focus during the rescue operation.

“The facts are now before Nigerians. We did not only congratulate the security agencies, we praised their courage, professionalism and sacrifice in unmistakable terms. What we declined to do was to applaud a Commander-in-Chief who, at a defining moment of national importance, remained publicly preoccupied with partisan political activities instead of personally leading the nation in celebrating the success of our troops and reassuring families whose loved ones remain in captivity.”

The statement also urged the Presidency to concentrate on addressing the country’s security challenges instead of responding to opposition figures.

“A government secure in its performance does not invent silence where there was a documented public statement. It responds to legitimate concerns with facts and results, not propaganda. Nigerians deserve a Presidency focused on rescuing every citizen still in captivity rather than one preoccupied with monitoring and misrepresenting the opposition.”

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