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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Conflict & Security

Surge in terror attacks aims to distract Tinubu, says Akpabio

From The Punch · (1d ago) English Mixed tone

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Senate President Godswill Akpabio suggested that the recent surge in terrorist attacks across Nigeria is a deliberate attempt to distract President Bola Tinubu's administration.
  • Akpabio asserted that the attacks are sponsored by individuals aiming to disrupt the President's reform agenda, claiming they would cease after his election victory.
  • His remarks follow a controversial Nigerian Air Force airstrike that killed civilians and a U.S. advisory for non-emergency staff to depart Abuja due to deteriorating security conditions.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has put forth a strong assertion that the escalating wave of terrorist activities plaguing Nigeria is not random but a calculated "gang up" orchestrated to divert President Bola Tinubu's attention from his reform initiatives. Speaking at the commissioning of the Nigeria Revenue Service Headquarters in Abuja, Akpabio directly addressed the President, suggesting that the bombings would cease post-election, implying a political motive behind the violence.

Believe me, Mr President, two weeks after you win the elections, the bomb blasts will stop. People are sponsoring it to distract you from your work.

— Senator Godswill AkpabioSenate President suggesting that terrorist attacks are politically motivated distractions.

This perspective from the Senate President comes at a particularly tense moment for Nigeria's security. It follows closely on the heels of President Tinubu's high-level security meetings and France's commitment to provide military aid. However, the context is also marked by a tragic Nigerian Air Force airstrike in Yobe State that resulted in numerous civilian casualties, including children, and a U.S. advisory recommending the voluntary departure of non-emergency embassy staff from Abuja due to security concerns.

You’re doing so well despite the gang up on your administration.

— Senator Godswill AkpabioSenate President expressing support for President Tinubu's administration amidst security challenges.

While the military has defended the airstrike as a targeted operation against insurgents, human rights organizations like Amnesty International have condemned it as a "reckless use of deadly force" and called for an independent investigation. The Presidency, however, has defended the operation, labeling the market a legitimate military target due to its alleged use as a logistics hub by terrorist groups. Akpabio's comments, therefore, frame these security challenges within a narrative of political opposition, seeking to shield the administration from direct criticism amidst a backdrop of widespread insecurity and controversial military actions.

The market was a legitimate military target because it has been turned into a logistics and trading hub by Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists.

— Temitope AjayiSpecial Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity defending a controversial airstrike.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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