Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the Federal Government over the abduction of students, a school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) official in Kogi State.
He said the latest attack shows that the Tinubu administration has abandoned education. He also accused the government of allowing insecurity to threaten the future of Nigerian children.
The gunmen attacked Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina. They abducted the principal, a NECO ad hoc official and students writing the ongoing Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE).
Atiku blames government for school attack
In a statement released on Wednesday by his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the incident as another failure of government.
According to him, no responsible government should allow schools and examination centres to become targets for criminals.
He said it was tragic that students could no longer write public examinations without fear of kidnapping.
“An examination hall should be a sanctuary of hope, not a crime scene. A school principal should be preparing students for the future, not negotiating with kidnappers.”
He added that NECO officials should supervise examinations without worrying about their safety.
“Yet this has become the grim reality under a government that has normalised insecurity.”
‘Schools have become soft targets’
The former vice president argued that the Kogi incident was not an isolated case.
He said repeated attacks have turned schools into easy targets for criminal groups across the country.
According to Atiku, bandits now operate with confidence because they no longer fear the Nigerian state.
He also linked the worsening insecurity to what he described as the government’s neglect of education.
“A government that has repeatedly made education more expensive through unprecedented increases in WAEC and NECO examination fees, neglected public schools, failed to secure learning environments and reduced education to empty campaign slogans should not be surprised that criminals now see schools as abandoned territories.”
‘Children face a double assault’
Atiku said government policies have created a double burden for Nigerian children.
He argued that rising examination fees have made education less affordable. At the same time, poor security has left many students vulnerable to attacks.
“First, they price poor children out of classrooms. Then they fail to protect those who remain in school.”
He described the situation as a double assault on Nigeria’s future.
According to him, economic hardship and insecurity now threaten the dreams of an entire generation.
Questions over government priorities
The former vice president also criticised the Federal Government’s spending priorities.
He alleged that officials continue to spend public funds on projects with little national value.
Meanwhile, education and security remain underfunded, he argued.
Atiku maintained that poor funding has weakened the protection available for schools across the country.
“The same budget that mysteriously accommodates billions of naira for items that defy logic cannot adequately secure the classrooms where Nigeria’s children are supposed to learn.”
He warned that every successful school kidnapping encourages more criminal attacks.
Calls for urgent action
Atiku described the collapse of security around schools as a failure of governance.
He said authorities must rescue every victim without delay.
He also urged the Federal Government to review security arrangements in schools and examination centres nationwide.
“History will not remember how many press releases this government issued after each abduction. History will remember whether it protected Nigeria’s children or abandoned them.”
The former vice president said Nigerian children deserve quality education in a safe environment.
“The children of Nigeria deserve books instead of bullets, classrooms instead of captivity, examinations instead of evacuation, and hope instead of horror.”
The latest incident adds to several school kidnappings recorded in Kaduna, Niger, Zamfara and Katsina states in recent years. Those attacks have renewed calls for stronger security around schools and better protection for students and teachers.
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