The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has issued a scathing condemnation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s handling of nationwide security crises, warning that the administration is “practically surrendering to terrorists” amid a fresh wave of mass kidnappings across Northern Nigeria.
In a strongly worded statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the opposition party said Nigerians have endured an “unprecedented week of horror,” citing the abductions of 25 students in Kebbi and another 315 students and staff in Niger State. The PDP said each incident has plunged families into “sorrows, tears, blood, fear, and deep anguish.”
The party expressed alarm that some state governments — and reportedly the Federal Government — are considering shutting down schools as a protective measure. The PDP insisted such a move would amount to a “total capitulation to terrorists,” whose explicit goal is to cripple education in the North.
According to UNICEF, the North already accounts for the bulk of Nigeria’s 18.3 million out-of-school children, a statistic the PDP says will worsen if schools are closed rather than better protected.
The party criticised what it described as the Tinubu administration’s “slow, detached, and unempathetic” response to the crisis. Instead of visiting affected communities, the President only directed the Minister of State for Defence to relocate to Kebbi — a gesture the PDP called “insensitive” and symbolic of a government “out of touch with the gravity of the tragedy.”
“A government that cannot secure lives and property must seek help or honourably resign,” the statement declared, accusing the APC-led administration of lacking urgency and seriousness in safeguarding children.
The PDP urged the Federal Government to immediately activate and adequately fund the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools, stressing that community intelligence, rapid response systems, and preventive strategies — not school closures — are the only viable path forward.
As the kidnapping crisis deepens, the opposition warns that prolonged inaction could permanently damage education in Northern Nigeria and embolden criminal groups already testing the limits of national security.
