Former Vice President of Nigeria and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has expressed concern over what he called the increasing audacity of the bandits who attack at will, unchallenged.

Atiku’s statement was on the heels of the latest attack on the Kurmin Wali community of Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

According to media reports, over 177 persons were kidnapped from ECWA Church and Cherubim and Seraphim Churches 1 and 2 at Kurmin Wali community in the local government on

Sunday.

Checks revealed that the bandits stormed the community, barely a week after the same community paid N2.6 million ransom to secure the release of 20 residents previously abducted.

In a statement signed by the former Vice President’s media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku declared that it is concerning that while some states are claiming victory in their peace deals with bandits, these same criminals are still busy attacking communities and taking hostages.

According to him, “it’s colossally embarrassing to see non-state actors holding the country hostage and attacking people and taking hostages again and again unchallenged.”

He observed that it is difficult to achieve deterrence in a situation where governors are on their knees begging bandits in the name of peace deals.

The former Vice President explained that while he is not against negotiations to end the violence, he will not accept a situation where the bandits dictate the peace deals on their own terms.

“Those peace deals always favour the bandits more than their victims, and they have always fooled the government’s negotiators,” he said.

Furthermore, Atiku advised that the government does not have to wait until the bandits launch attacks before it responds to those attacks.

“Nigerians are no longer impressed by the powerful language of condemnation by the government. They’re more interested in results than rhetoric. Experience has shown that if rhetoric were enough to deter the bandits, the menace would have ended a long time ago,” he bemoaned.

The ADC chieftain stressed that the Tinubu-led APC administration must be held accountable for its own campaign promises to end insecurity in the country.

“Nigerians cannot be comforted by excuses. As a former opposition party, the APC held the then government in power to the harshest and merciless standards, and therefore, the Tinubu administration must be held to the same standards,” he said. (Nigerian Tribune)