By Achile Danjuma
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly condemned the multiple bomb blasts that rocked Maiduguri, Borno State, on Monday night, calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately return to the country and focus on national security.
In a press statement issued on Tuesday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, expressed grief over the attack, which left at least 23 people dead and over 100 others injured . The ADC described the incident as a tragic setback for a city that had recently begun to enjoy relative stability after years of insurgency.
However, the core of the ADC’s criticism targeted the absence of the nation’s leadership during the crisis. The party noted that the attack occurred while President Tinubu is making plans for his trip to the United Kingdom for a state visit hosted by King Charles III .
“It is therefore troubling that the President is currently outside the country at a time when such a serious attack on national security occurred,” the statement read. The party specifically raised concerns about senior officials it claimed are distracted by partisan politics. “The National Security Adviser is going after opposition figures and calling bandits his ‘brothers’, while the Minister of Defence is on television planning the APC national convention. This is not leadership,” the ADC claimed.
The party argued that the protection of lives and property is the primary responsibility of government and should supersede what it termed “political distractions and diplomatic ceremonies.”
“In any serious country, a devastating security breach would command the full attention of government. Leaders would return home, address the nation, and take responsibility,” Abdullahi’s statement continued. “Instead, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is abroad, exchanging pleasantries with the King and Queen of England while Nigerians mourn and soldiers are being buried.”
The ADC also called on the government to go beyond issuing condolences by paying compensation to the families of victims—both military and civilian—as a way of accepting responsibility for security failures.
President Tinubu departed Abuja on Tuesday for the UK visit, which is slated to run from March 18 to 19. According to a statement from the State House, the visit aims to strengthen bilateral relations in trade, investment, and cultural exchange, and includes a significant £746 million financing deal for Nigerian ports .
Following the attacks, the presidency issued a statement on Tuesday in which President Tinubu described the incidents as “desperate acts of the evil-minded terrorist groups.” He directed security chiefs to relocate to Maiduguri to take charge of the situation and ordered emergency agencies to provide care for the injured .