FREED KEBBI SCHOOLGIRLS: You negotiated with criminals, bandits, terrorists but convicted Kanu
“Rufai Oseni criticises the Tinubu administration for allegedly negotiating with bandits following the release of abducted Kebbi schoolgirls. Public concerns intensify as activists like Falz demand accountability over Nigeria’s rising insecurity.”
Popular Nigerian journalist and Arise Television anchor, Rufai Oseni, has expressed strong concerns over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s handling of national security following the release of 24 schoolgirls abducted by bandits in Maga, Kebbi State, last week.
In a now-viral video on Wednesday, Oseni criticised the Federal Government for allegedly negotiating with the kidnappers rather than deploying a decisive, force-based rescue strategy.
He argued that the Tinubu administration, which handed the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, a life sentence for inciting violence, was now adopting a contradictory approach by “negotiating with armed criminals.”
Oseni said:
“I am happy that the kidnapped girls were released—hallelujah. But what do they mean when they say they spoke with the kidnappers or bandits and the girls were released? Does it mean they didn’t arrest them? You let them go so they can kidnap more people, just as they have always done. I shoulder disbelief at what is happening in Nigeria.
You negotiated with criminals, bandits, and terrorists as what—business partners? Should a government with superior powers be negotiating?
This is the same government that jailed Nnamdi Kanu for life for inciting violence, yet those who abduct innocent citizens are being negotiated with. The government has the temerity to say, ‘We negotiated with them.’”
Reacting to the development, President Tinubu said, “I am relieved that all 24 girls have been accounted for.”
However, the manner of their release has continued to spark public outrage and raise questions about the government’s counter-terrorism strategy.
Earlier, Nigerian rapper and activist Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, also condemned the rescue of 38 abducted members of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Oke Isegun, Eruku, in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, without any arrests made.
Responding to the criticisms, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said during an interview on Arise TV that security forces must operate with restraint.
According to him, “The security personnel must act carefully to avoid harming citizens.”
