*Says security crisis demands action, not statements

 

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused President Bola Tinubu of creating the impression that some victims of insecurity matter more than others, urging him to provide updates and timelines for the rescue of 176 residents abducted from Woro community in Kaiama, Kwara State, who have remained in captivity since February 3, 2026.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the President’s celebration of the recent rescue of abductees in Oyo State had prompted questions about the fate of victims still being held in Kaiama, Borno and other parts of the country. The ADC also cited the recent abduction of 40 residents in Zamfara, fresh attacks in Benue and the kidnapping of Kebbi High Court Judge, Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, as evidence that insecurity remains widespread despite presidential assurances. It argued that repeated promises that insecurity would soon end were no longer convincing, describing Tinubu as “a professional statement-maker” on security issues, and urged him to demonstrate through action that every Nigerian life carries equal value.

The party stressed that it is concerned by President Tinubu’s administration response to insecurity where some victims receive swift presidential attention, while others are left to languish in silence. Every successful rescue of abducted Nigerians deserves to be celebrated.

“The President must ensure that his actions do not create the impression that the value of a Nigerian life depends on where the victim comes from or whether the tragedy attracts national headlines.
“Leadership demands equal compassion for every citizen, because no country can build national unity on the basis of selective empathy and selective attention.

“On Friday, July 24, 2026, residents of Kaiama Local Government Area in Kwara State staged a peaceful protest over the fate of 176 residents of Woro community abducted on February 3, 2026. More than 170 days later, their families are still asking the same questions: Where are their loved ones? What has the government done? When should they expect them home? Their protest was not political. It was the cry of citizens who fear that their loved ones have been forgotten.

“The tragedy is not standing still; it is spreading. In Zamfara State, no fewer than 40 residents from 11 communities in Mayanchi District of Maru Local Government Area were recently abducted by bandits, most of them women and children, forcing terrified families to flee their homes. On Friday, July 24, fresh attacks again claimed lives in Benue’s Sankera axis. And in the early hours of Sunday, July 26, 2026, suspected bandits abducted a Judge of the Kebbi State High Court, Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, from his residence. Meanwhile, communities in Borno State continue to endure insurgent attacks and mass displacement.
“These are not isolated incidents. They are reminders that insecurity remains a daily reality for millions of Nigerians.

“Following the public celebration surrounding the rescue of abductees in Oyo State, Nigerians are entitled to ask a simple question: what is the status of those still being held elsewhere? What progress has been made in securing the release of the 176 abductees from Kaiama? What is being done to rescue the women and children taken in Zamfara? What efforts are underway to secure the release of Justice Bunza? What updates are available on victims in Borno and other affected communities? The President owes Nigerians more than broad assurances. He owes them regular updates, timelines and evidence that no Nigerian community has been abandoned.”

The statement continued, “On Thursday, July 23, 2026, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu again assured Nigerians that insecurity in the North would soon come to an end. We sincerely hope that promise becomes reality. But hope cannot survive indefinitely on declarations alone. There comes a point when repeated assurances, unaccompanied by visible results, cease to reassure. They simply become another headline in a long cycle of official optimism and public disappointment.

“That is why many Nigerians no longer receive presidential statements on insecurity with the confidence they once did. The administration has become remarkably consistent in making reassuring pronouncements but far less convincing in delivering outcomes. On one of the defining challenges of this government, the President is increasingly seen as a professional statement-maker, while communities continue to bury their dead, search for the missing and wait for rescues that never seem to come.”

The ADC also called on President Tinubu to demonstrate, through action rather than rhetoric, that every Nigerian life carries equal value.

“The people abducted in Woro on February 3 matter. The women and children abducted in Mayanchi, Zamfara matter. The families living under siege in Borno matter. The victims of fresh attacks in Benue matter. Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza matters. They deserve the same urgency, the same empathy, and the same presidential attention that every rescued Nigerian rightly receives. Leadership is not measured by how quickly government celebrates a rescue; it is measured by whether no Nigerian is left behind or forgotten.”