By Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko
Since the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu kickstarted, it has been characterized by a major flaw: its incapacity and inability to substantially curb the fast rising terror attacks on schools and communities just as these attacks have been very bloody with thousands of casualties left on their trails.
This year 2026, has seen some of the most heart-rending, most painful, traumatic and vexatious terrorist attacks on the very soft targets of schools whereby the well-armed terrorists kidnapped hundreds of children and took them into the bushes and then wait to open up negotiations with government officials.
These rash of bloody violence have been unleashed in Borno, Yobe, Kebbi, Sokoto, Plateau, Kaduna and most recently in Oyo.
By the last count, over a thousand school children have been whisked away into the dreaded forests by these terrorists armed with the deadliest of sophisticated military grade weapons.
The children taken away from their schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, were videoed by their heartless captors whereby they were subjected to all kinds of indignities and torture of the most gruesome and beastial genres.
The headmaster of one of the schools kidnapped by the terrorists was shown on video being decapitated by the Islamists.
The speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly revealed that the terrorists demanded that the legislative House makes a law to concede some portions of the state to them even when they are strange Fulanis. The terrorists also made financial demands. In one of the previous hostage situations, it was later revealed that the terrorists were paid with billions of Naira in foreign denominated currency conveyed to their hideouts allegedly in helicopter by the government intermediary.
Tinubu’s administration through the office of the National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu stridently denied and debunked the claims which circulated even in international media. Comically, the terrorists have advanced their trade to include posting live videos on tiktok and Facebook and recently, a video circulated showing hundreds of millions of Naira the terrorists collected as ransom to free some of their captives and the Fulani terrorist was heard speaking in poor Hausa language saying that they are swimming in hundreds of millions of money. Whilst the terrorists smile amidst what they consider as good turnovers, the victims and their families wail and are forced to sell off their priced assets just to secure the release of their children and the president and his administration are absent and inactive in all of these. So you now see why Nigerians are angry with the present government at the centre.
Above all else, Nigerians are aggrieved with the Federal government for not displaying enough empathy each time these terrorists attacked communities or schools and the citizens said they are disappointed with these tactless and unsympathetic commentaries emanating especially from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu whenever citizens are hauled into the forests by terrorists. Even when these reactions sound sympathetic, citizens demands accountability from the government by way of decisively crushing the terrorists and not just to engage in mere meaningless political rhetoric.
The position of the majority of Nigerians demanding expressions of profound empathy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is justifiable and this writer will in the subsequent lines of this piece articulate and show a compilation of ten of such unsympathetic and insensitive comments made by President Tinubu following these kidnappings and violence by terrorists unleashed on the citizens.
10 Reactions of President Tinubu to Terrorist Attacks | May 2023 – May 2026:
Woro Village, Kwara State – June 2023
Attack: Gunmen killed up to 162 people, burned shops + traditional ruler’s home. Tinubu blamed Boko Haram jihadists
Reaction: Condemned the “beastly attack” against villagers who rejected jihadists’ ideology. Ordered an army battalion to secure the area. Said he was “enraged that the attackers killed community members who rejected their obnoxious attempt at indoctrination”
Source: Standard Media; Presidency statement
Plateau State Communities – Dec 2023/Jan 2024
Attack: “Mindless gunmen” attacked Ruwi, Hurti, Tadai, Manguna, Dafo villages in Bokkos LGA
Reaction: Vowed “severe punishment under the law”. Directed security agencies to hunt down attackers. Said “intermittent attacks should have no place… we will work harder to exterminate forces of evil”. Directed NEMA to provide relief
Source: State House Abuja
Niger State – Kasuwan Daji, Demo Village – Dec 2024
Attack: Bandits killed over 30 people, burnt market, abducted women/children
Reaction: “These terrorists have tested the resolve of our country… They must face the full consequences… No matter who they are… they must be hunted down”. Sent condolences + mandated security to intensify operations near forests
Source: AllAfrica; THISDAY.
Benisheikh, Borno State – April 9, 2026
Attack: ISWAP attacked 3 military bases in Pulka, Mungono, Benisheikh. Commanding officer Brig-Gen Oseni Braimah + soldiers killed
Reaction: Expressed “deep sorrow” over fallen troops, called them “unforgettable heroes”. Said insurgents’ counterattack shows “desperation”. Urged troops: “Do not lose heart, do not be weary… Our resolve to defeat terrorism is stronger than ever”
Source: AllAfrica; Premium Times; TheStar
Maiduguri, Borno State – March 17, 2026
Attack: Coordinated suicide bombings hit hospital, market, post office. 23+ killed
Reaction: “I mourn those who lost their lives… These acts of terror are the final desperate attempts by criminals… There is no place in Nigeria where terrorists will find safety. We will locate them, confront them, and completely defeat them. Nigeria will not succumb to fear”. Directed security chiefs to move to Maiduguri + emergency agencies to care for injured
Source: State House Abuja
Ngoshe, Gwoza LGA, Borno – March 6, 2026
Attack: Boko Haram attacked Ngoshe community. Military + civilians killed, some in friendly fire
Reaction: “Heartfelt condolences to families… attack is a heartless assault on hapless citizens”. Urged Borno residents “not to succumb to fear”. Commended military for killing scores of terrorists. Directed armed forces to “intensify efforts to protect civilians… prevent attacks on military installations”
Source: State House Abuja; Channels TV; Voice of Nigeria
Angwan Rukuba, Jos North, Plateau – April 2, 2026
Attack: Suspected bandits attacked bar, 28 people died. Viral video of woman with son’s body
Reaction: Consoled families in Jos: “There is nothing I can give you, whether money in billions… but console you and promise you that this experience will not repeat itself… The best solution is for justice to be done”. Directed security to “unearth and find the killers” + install cameras
Source: TheCable; The Nation
Kahir Village, Kagarko LGA, Kaduna – April 2026
Attack: Wedding guests killed/abducted
Reaction: Condemned both Jos + Kahir attacks as “barbaric and cowardly”, vowed perpetrators “would be brought to justice”. “Anyone who will sneak under cover of night and kill defenceless citizens… is a heartless coward”
Source: The Nation
Borno Military Formation – General Borno attack 2025/2026
Attack: Repeated coordinated attacks on military positions in Borno
Reaction: Commended “courage and fighting spirit of our patriotic troops who successfully repelled coordinated attacks”. “The Monday attacks were desperate acts of evil-minded terrorist groups. Our gallant military will curtail and put them down”
Source: State House Abuja
General Counter-Terrorism Stance – 2024 Summit
Context: No specific attack, but major policy statement
Reaction: At African counter-terrorism summit, Tinubu said “May we do everything required to defeat this challenge so that… historians will discuss how today became a major turning point in Africa’s defeat of terrorist scourge”. Noted Nigeria is “dealing decisively with drivers of violent extremism, resumed prosecution of Boko Haram suspects”
Source: State House Abuja.
What I can get from all of these reactions which at best represent motion without movement just like the barber’s chair is the famous phrase spoken by Macbeth in Act 5, Scene 5 after he learned that his wife, Lady Macbeth had died. His quote which also graphically demonstrates the lack of political will by President Tinubu to solve the persistent attacks by terrorists, goes thus: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”.
These Reaction of President Tinubu to Terrorists attacks nationwide without following them up with actions to decimate these terrorists are full of sound and fury, signifying nothing really for the citizens who are facing horrendous violence of these terrorists that have appeared as if they are stronger than the Nigerian government. So, are these terrorists stronger than the current federal administration? Your guess is as good as mine.
EMMANUEL NNADOZIE ONWUBIKO, is the founder of HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA AND WAS NATIONAL COMMISSIONER OF THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF NIGERIA.
