The Presidency on Sunday tackled former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s claim that the reported 5,091 Nigerians killed in violent incidents over a three-month period was an indictment on President Bola Tinubu’s government, insisting that security agencies had in the same window killed more than 13,000 terrorists and rescued thousands more Nigerians from captivity.
It argued that Atiku deliberately ignored the successes of the Armed Forces in the war against terror in pursuit of what it described as “a politics of despair.”
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, made the rebuttal in an interview with one of our correspondents, responding to a statement issued earlier on Sunday by Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
Atiku described President Bola Tinubu’s security record as “soaked in blood” and cited the 5,091 death toll as grounds for the government’s removal.
Reacting, Ajayi said, “In the last three months, the security agencies have, according to official figures, killed between 13,000 to 20,000 terrorists. They have rescued at least 10,000 of Nigerians across the DSS, the police, the military. And this is according to official reports.
“So, every day the military, the police, the DSS are rescuing people. So, why is Atiku not commending them for that? Are those people who were rescued not important?”
He argued that Atiku’s silence on those figures was deliberate, saying, “He cannot focus on that because it doesn’t serve his politics of despair. All he wants to focus on is despondency to sell fear to Nigerians. What it serves is warped politics. It is politics without conscience.”
Ajayi cited the recent mass rescue of Nigerians abducted in the North-Central region.
“Just last week, 308 Nigerians were rescued from around Niger State, including those abducted in Kwara and part of Niger.
“Go to the official handles of the police, the DSS and the army. You will see reports of Nigerians, women, children, men, rescued from across the states, either from kidnappers, bandits, or Boko Haram. If you sum up those figures, they are more than 10,000,” he said.
He noted that the military’s operations extended beyond rescues to sustained offensive action against armed groups.
According to him, “Our armed forces are eliminating terrorists. They are arresting them in their numbers, disrupting their operations, arresting their logistic suppliers and their informants every day.”
“Why is Atiku not talking about that? It’s because he wants to continue to sow the seed of fear, the seed of despondency, the seed of hopelessness, hoping that it will help his politics.
He further questioned Atiku’s conduct as a former holder of high office, describing his continued criticism as unbecoming of a statesman.
