Presidency, Atiku Clash Over 5,091 Deaths as Security Record Comes Under Scrutiny

• Atiku Abubakar says 5,091 Nigerians were killed in violent incidents over three months, calling the figure an indictment of President Bola Tinubu’s government.

• The Presidency rejects the assessment, citing the killing of between 13,000 and 20,000 terrorists and the rescue of at least 10,000 Nigerians.

• The Nigeria Police also disputed Atiku’s assessment, saying available security data indicated that violent crime had declined.

• The latest confrontation puts Nigeria’s security record at the centre of the political battle ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

August 10, () — The Presidency and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar have clashed over Nigeria’s worsening security situation, with Atiku accusing President Bola Tinubu’s administration of failing in its constitutional duty to protect lives, while the government pointed to military operations and recent mass rescues as evidence of progress.

The dispute followed Atiku’s criticism of a reported 5,091 deaths recorded in violent incidents across Nigeria over a three-month period. The former Vice President said the figure represented a damning indictment of the administration’s security record and strengthened the case for a change of government in 2027.

In a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the death toll should trouble the conscience of the government.

“Behind every number is a Nigerian whose life was cut short, a family thrown into mourning, children deprived of parents and communities condemned to fear,” he said.

The 5,091 figure was attributed to SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based geopolitical research and strategic communications consultancy that tracks violent deaths, kidnappings and other security incidents in Nigeria.

Atiku argued that the security crisis was also linked to what he described as fiscal indiscipline, wasteful spending and poor implementation of appropriated funds. He maintained that security agencies could not effectively confront terrorism, banditry and kidnapping without adequate operational resources.

“You cannot run the public treasury as though it were a private purse, squander scarce resources on questionable priorities, and then expect soldiers and other security personnel on the frontlines to perform miracles,” he said.

He welcomed the government’s recent increase in military pay but said improved salaries alone would not address the wider challenges confronting troops. According to him, personnel also needed adequate equipment, operational funding, timely allowances and improved welfare for their families.

Atiku said the reported death toll ultimately demonstrated what he called the administration’s failure to meet its most basic responsibility.

“A government that cannot protect its citizens has failed the first test of governance,” he said, adding that the 5,091 reported killings constituted “5,091 reasons this government must go”.

The Presidency rejected the assessment, arguing that focusing solely on reported deaths ignored the scale of ongoing security operations against terrorists, kidnappers and other armed groups.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, said official figures showed that security agencies had killed between 13,000 and 20,000 terrorists during the same three-month period and rescued at least 10,000 Nigerians from captivity.

“Every day the military, the police, the DSS are rescuing people. So, why is Atiku not commending them for that? Are those people who were rescued not important?” Ajayi said in response to Atiku’s criticism.

He pointed to the recent rescue of 308 Nigerians abducted in Kwara and Niger states as an example of the government’s ongoing security operations. The operation involved the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, the Armed Forces, the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force.

Ajayi also cited continuing military operations targeting terrorist groups, their logistics networks and informants.

The presidential aide, however, went beyond the security debate to attack Atiku’s political motives, accusing him of using insecurity to create fear and portraying his criticism as part of an attempt to strengthen his 2027 presidential campaign.

Separately, Force spokesperson Ani Iniedu disputed the former Vice President’s assessment of the security situation, saying available security intelligence suggested that violent crime had declined.

“If you check the analytics online from several security intelligence data, you will discover that in the past six months, violent crime in Nigeria has drastically reduced,” Iniedu said.

The conflicting claims highlight the difficulty of assessing Nigeria’s security situation through a single metric. While the government has pointed to military offensives, arrests and hostage rescues as signs of improved operational capacity, civilian deaths, kidnappings and attacks continue to shape public perceptions of insecurity.

Recent government-cited successes include the rescue of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State after 56 days in captivity, as well as the recovery of 308 abducted Nigerians in Kwara and Niger states.

President Tinubu subsequently directed security agencies to strengthen early-warning systems and community-level intelligence gathering to prevent mass abductions.

Atiku, who is seeking the presidency in 2027 on the platform of the African Democratic Congress, has remained a prominent critic of the Tinubu administration’s handling of both security and the economy since losing the 2023 presidential election.

The latest exchange therefore goes beyond competing assessments of Nigeria’s security statistics. It also signals that insecurity is likely to remain a central issue in the political contest ahead of the 2027 election, with the opposition focusing on civilian casualties and the government highlighting military operations and hostage rescues as measures of progress.