The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has expressed sympathy with the families of victims of the recent attack on a commercial bus in Plateau State, describing the incident as evidence of what he called the government’s failure to protect citizens.
Adebayo, in a statement made available to newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja by the Chief Communications Adviser to the Adewole Adebayo-Bugaje Presidential Campaign, Mark Adebayo, condemned the attack at Dungus Junction in Kuru, Jos South Local Government Area.
Gunmen reportedly opened fire on a commercial bus, killing several passengers and injuring others.
He said the latest tragedy underscored what he described as the Federal Government’s inability to discharge its constitutional responsibility of securing lives and property.
“My heart bleeds for the families who woke up on Monday morning to realize that their loved ones – fathers, mothers, sons and daughters – will never come home,” Adebayo said.
According to him, “these were regular citizens travelling in a commercial bus, trying to make a living, completely defenceless, to be targeted and executed in cold blood by ruthless criminals is a stain on our collective humanity
“ We share in the overwhelming grief of the Plateau people. No family should ever have to bury their relatives under such barbaric circumstances.”
Adebayo said the attack was not an isolated incident but part of a broader security challenge confronting the country.
According to the statement, the SDP candidate cited reports by organisations including Global Rights Nigeria, SBM Intelligence and Amnesty International to argue that killings, kidnappings and other violent crimes had continued to rise across the country.
“Behind these frightening statistics are real human beings,” Adebayo said.
“These numbers represent empty chairs at dinner tables, orphaned children and broken communities left entirely at the mercy of terrorists and bandits.”
He criticised the current administration over what he described as inadequate responses to insecurity, insisting that routine condemnations after attacks were no longer sufficient.
“The government has abandoned its duties,” Adebayo stated. “The primary purpose of any government is to secure its people. When a state cannot protect passengers on a major road from being slaughtered, that state is failing its citizens.
According to him, “We do not need more reactive military operations that only show up after the graves have been dug. We need a compassionate, proactive and community-centred security architecture that values every single Nigerian life.”
The SDP presidential candidate also pledged that, if elected, addressing insecurity would be among the top priorities of his administration.
He promised decisive action within his first 100 days in office to restore public confidence in the country’s security system.
