Atiku Abubakar Decries Kebbi School Attack, Zamfara Killings: ‘Nigeria Cannot Continue Like This’

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the killing of a vice-principal and the abduction of students at Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, calling the attack another alarming indicator of Nigeria’s worsening insecurity crisis.

The PDP presidential candidate made the remarks in a statement posted on X on Monday, also denouncing the murder of APC chieftain Umar Moriki and the mass kidnappings in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, where armed groups seized entire families, including women and children.

Atiku warned that similar violent attacks were unfolding across Plateau, Benue and other states, with communities repeatedly displaced by raids. He added that residents in Shanono LGA of Kano State were fleeing their homes out of fear as bandits intensified operations.

He urged the Federal Government to urgently overhaul the nation’s security architecture, strengthen deployments to vulnerable areas and adopt deeper intelligence-driven strategies to curb the surge in violent crime.

“I am devastated by the news of the tragic attack on Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, which claimed the life of the Vice-Principal and led to the abduction of innocent students,” Atiku wrote.

He described the killings, kidnappings and recurrent displacements as “acts of barbarity” that have no place in a civilised society.

“Nigeria cannot continue on this path,” he warned. “Our citizens deserve protection, dignity and peace — nothing less.”

The former vice president said the pattern of violence sweeping across multiple states shows a security situation that has become “intolerable,” urging President Bola Tinubu’s administration to treat the crisis as a national emergency.