The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of creating the impression that “some victims of insecurity matter more than others,” and demanded timelines for the rescue of 176 residents abducted from Woro community in Kaiama, Kwara State, who have remained in captivity since February 3, 2026.

Speaking on Sunday through its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the President’s celebration of recent rescues in Oyo State has raised questions about the fate of victims still being held in Kaiama, Borno, Zamfara and other parts of the country.

“The African Democratic Congress is concerned by what is becoming an unmistakable pattern in the Tinubu administration’s response to insecurity: some victims receive swift presidential attention, while others are left to languish in silence,” the statement said.

“Every successful rescue of abducted Nigerians deserves to be celebrated. But the President must ensure that his actions do not create the impression that the value of a Nigerian life depends on where the victim comes from or whether the tragedy attracts national headlines. Leadership demands equal compassion for every citizen, because no country can build national unity on the basis of selective empathy and selective attention.”

“On Friday, July 24, 2026, residents of Kaiama Local Government Area in Kwara State staged a peaceful protest over the fate of 176 residents of Woro community abducted on February 3, 2026.

“More than 170 days later, their families are still asking the same questions: Where are their loved ones? What has the government done? When should they expect them home? Their protest was not political. It was the cry of citizens who fear that their loved ones have been forgotten,” the ADC said.

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The party also cited fresh incidents of insecurity: the recent abduction of no fewer than 40 residents from 11 communities in Mayanchi District, Maru LGA, Zamfara, mostly women and children; attacks in Benue’s Sankera axis on July 24; and the early hours of Sunday abduction of Kebbi State High Court Judge, Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza.

It added that communities in Borno continue to endure insurgent attacks and mass displacement.

“These are not isolated incidents. They are reminders that insecurity remains a daily reality for millions of Nigerians.”

Following the public celebration of the rescue of abductees in Oyo State, the ADC asked: “What is the status of those still being held elsewhere? What progress has been made in securing the release of the 176 abductees from Kaiama? What is being done to rescue the women and children taken in Zamfara? What efforts are underway to secure the release of Justice Bunza? What updates are available on victims in Borno and other affected communities?”

“The President owes Nigerians more than broad assurances. He owes them regular updates, timelines and evidence that no Nigerian community has been abandoned.”

The party referenced President Tinubu’s assurance on Thursday, July 23, 2026, that insecurity in the North would soon end.

“We sincerely hope that promise becomes reality. But hope cannot survive indefinitely on declarations alone. There comes a point when repeated assurances, unaccompanied by visible results, cease to reassure. They simply become another headline in a long cycle of official optimism and public disappointment.”

“That is why many Nigerians no longer receive presidential statements on insecurity with the confidence they once did. The administration has become remarkably consistent in making reassuring pronouncements but far less convincing in delivering outcomes. On one of the defining challenges of this government, the President is increasingly seen as a professional statement-maker, while communities continue to bury their dead, search for the missing and wait for rescues that never seem to come.”

The ADC called on President Tinubu to demonstrate through action that every Nigerian life carries equal value.

“The people abducted in Woro on February 3 matter. The women and children abducted in Mayanchi, Zamfara matter. The families living under siege in Borno matter. The victims of fresh attacks in Benue matter. Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza matters. They deserve the same urgency, the same empathy and the same presidential attention that every rescued Nigerian rightly receives. Leadership is not measured by how quickly government celebrates a rescue; it is measured by whether no Nigerian is left behind or forgotten.”