‘Kidnappers Do Not Care If You Are APC, Ex-Minister’ – Atiku Reacts To Adelabu’s Family Abduction

Former Vice-President and 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the abduction of the sister and twin nephews of a former Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, describing the incident as another disturbing proof of Nigeria’s worsening security crisis.

Naijaonpoint reported earlier how Adelabu’s relatives were reportedly abducted in broad daylight in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

In a statement issued on Wednesday (today) by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku expressed solidarity with the Adelabu family and called for the immediate rescue of the victims.

He said the incident was particularly shocking because it reportedly happened around the Challenge Bus Stop, one of the busiest and most popular areas in Ibadan.

According to him, the ability of kidnappers to strike in such a public place without fear of being intercepted showed the frightening depth of insecurity in the country.

Atiku said millions of ordinary Nigerians had endured the pain and fear of kidnapping for years, adding that the latest incident should force the Federal Government to confront the scale of the crisis.

He said, “This latest incident raises a question that the Tinubu administration can no longer evade: if government officials have become desensitised to the suffering of ordinary citizens, should they not at least be alarmed when insecurity reaches the doorstep of one of their own?”

The former vice-president said the country had reached a point where no Nigerian could truly feel safe, whether in the city, on the highway, on the farm or in school.

He lamented that families across the country were being subjected to trauma while kidnappers and other criminal elements operated with increasing boldness.

Atiku said the insecurity affecting the country had become widespread, with different categories of Nigerians now exposed to violent attacks.

He said, “Schoolchildren are abducted from classrooms, farmers are driven from their lands, travellers are kidnapped on highways, and entire communities are held hostage by fear. Yet, despite these grim realities, the government’s response has too often been characterised by excuses, propaganda, and palliatives rather than decisive action.”

He said the tragedy of kidnapping had gone beyond political affiliation, status or profession.

According to him, kidnappers do not care whether their victims are members of the ruling party, opposition supporters, ministers, former ministers, traders, teachers, students or farmers.

Atiku said the same insecurity that had turned the lives of ordinary Nigerians into a daily nightmare was now reaching people who might have assumed they were beyond its reach.

The former vice-president warned that insecurity should not be treated as a partisan issue, stressing that every Nigerian was vulnerable.

He said kidnappers “do not ask for party membership cards before striking” and do not distinguish between members of the All Progressives Congress and opposition supporters.

Atiku said the abduction of Adelabu’s relatives should serve as a wake-up call to those responsible for securing the nation.

He stated, “If the endless cries of ordinary Nigerians were not enough to spur this government into action, one would have expected that an attack affecting the family of a former member of the administration would finally underscore the urgency of the crisis. Sadly, insecurity has become so pervasive that no one is truly insulated from its consequences.”

Atiku said a government that could not guarantee the safety of its citizens was failing in its most basic duty.

He decried a situation where Nigerians now plan for ransom payments the way they plan for school fees, while parents live in constant fear of receiving distressing calls about their loved ones.

The former vice-president called on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to abandon what he described as its current approach to security and adopt a comprehensive, intelligence-driven strategy.

He said such a strategy must be capable of dismantling kidnapping syndicates, securing vulnerable communities and restoring public confidence in the government’s ability to protect lives and property.

Atiku called for the immediate rescue of Adelabu’s relatives and the arrest and prosecution of those behind the abduction.

He also extended his prayers and support to the Adelabu family and to other Nigerian families still suffering from the effects of kidnapping and violent attacks.

The former vice-president said the government must act with urgency, warning that insecurity had become too widespread to be met with routine statements and political excuses.