•Party slams President for “state visit” while Borno mourns 23 dead, 108 injured.
••ADC demands mandatory compensation for victims of terror to enforce govt accountability
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has issued a stinging rebuke of President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remain on a state visit to the United Kingdom while the nation reels from a devastating triple bomb blast in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The opposition party has demanded that the President immediately “cut short” his foreign engagement and return home to lead the national response to the resurgence of terror in the North East.
The Carnage in Maiduguri
The calls for the President’s return follow a bloody Monday evening in the Borno State capital. At approximately 7:24 pm, coordinated explosions ripped through three high-traffic locations: a crowded local market, the entrance gate of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), and the Post Office flyover.
The attacks, which have shattered a hard-won period of relative stability in the region, left 23 people dead and 108 others sustaining various degrees of injury. The scale of the carnage has sparked fears that the dark days of unhindered insurgency may be returning to the city.
Politics Over Protection
In a strongly-worded statement released on Tuesday, Bolaji Abdullahi, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, condemned the timing of the President’s UK trip.
“Terrorism anywhere in Nigeria is an attack on all Nigerians,” Abdullahi stated. “It is therefore deeply troubling that the President is currently outside the country at a time when such a serious attack on national security occurred. Moments like this demand the full and undivided attention of the nation’s leadership.”
The ADC went further to accuse the administration’s top security brass of being “distracted” by partisan politics and internal party maneuvers. Abdullahi pointed specifically to the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Minister of Defence, suggesting their priorities have shifted away from their primary mandates.
“At a time when Nigerian soldiers and civilians are being willfully killed by terrorists, those charged with protecting the country are focused on the politics of self-succession,” the statement read. “The NSA is going after opposition figures while calling bandits his ‘brothers,’ and the Minister of Defence is on television planning the APC national convention. This is not leadership; it is a dangerous distraction that is costing lives.”
Demands for Accountability
The ADC argued that the “thoughts and prayers” approach typically offered by the Presidency following tragedies is no longer sufficient. To enforce government accountability, the party suggested that the federal government must begin paying financial compensation to the families of every victim of insecurity.
“It is about time that government started to take full responsibility for every life lost that could have been protected by paying compensation to the families of victims, whether military or civilian,” Abdullahi added. “By penalizing itself this way, government would start to accept responsibility. It is no longer enough to merely issue condolences.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, President Tinubu remains in London for his scheduled state visit, having departed Abuja shortly before the full scale of the Maiduguri blasts was made public.
While the Presidency has yet to issue a formal response to the ADC’s demand for an early return, the pressure is mounting. Security analysts warn that the coordinated nature of the Maiduguri attacks suggests a sophisticated breach of the city’s security perimeter, requiring an urgent high-level review of the current counter-terrorism strategy.
For now, the people of Maiduguri are left to bury their dead, while the political class in Abuja remains deeply divided over whether the Commander-in-Chief belongs at the diplomatic table in London or on the frontlines of a grieving nation.
