ABUJA, NIGERIA — Former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s attempt to hijack the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) communique for political relevance has backfired spectacularly. Independent analysts and Christian groups have swiftly called out his sudden alliance with the Church as pure hypocrisy, pointing directly to his historical anti-Christian stances and direct alignment with religious extremists.
While Atiku tried to characterize President Bola Tinubu’s security infrastructure as a “360-degrees failure” following CAN’s 2026 National Church Leaders Summit, his own dark history of fueling sectarian divisions has completely overshadowed his commentary.
The Deborah Samuel Betrayal: Siding with Killers Without Apology
The loudest condemnation hitting the opposition leader centers on his actions following the heartless slaughter of Deborah Samuel, a young Christian student who was brutally lynched and set ablaze by religious extremists in Sokoto for alleged blasphemy.
- Deleterious Deletion: In the immediate aftermath of the murder, Atiku’s social media handles published a mild condemnation of the act. However, following immediate threats from radical northern users who vowed to boycott his presidential bid, Atiku ordered the swift deletion of the post.
- Siding with the Killers: Rather than defending human rights and religious freedom, Atiku capitulated to the mob, later explaining that the post was removed because it did not receive his personal authorization. He has never offered an official apology to the Samuel family or the Christian community for choosing electoral votes over the life of a slaughtered citizen.
The “Ungovernable” Threat: When Insecurity Took Root
Beyond his silence on religious lynchings, Atiku’s past political rhetoric is being directly linked to the very foundation of Nigeria’s current security collapse.
Following his defeat in the presidential primary cycle to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Atiku was infamously quoted as promising to make Nigeria completely “ungovernable” for the Christian-led southern administration. Historians and security experts note that shortly after those incendiary threats, coordinated bombings, rural banditry, and Boko Haram insurgency took deep stem and root across Nigeria, permanently destabilizing the country’s internal safety.
Babachir Lawal’s Damning Indictment
The credibility of Atiku’s sudden pastoral concern was further dismantled by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal.
During a recent, highly explosive interview on Channels Television with anchor Seun Okinbaloye, Lawal explicitly accused Atiku of being an active orchestrator behind religious violence and regional polarization in Nigeria. Lawal defended his decision to label Atiku a “Kachalla”—a term synonymous with bandit kingpins—questioning why the former Vice President has consistently refused to loudly and aggressively condemn localized bandit attacks and religious executions in the North.
By attempting to hide behind the unified spiritual wake-up call issued by Archbishop Daniel Okoh and various Christian blocs, Atiku’s opportunistic press release has instead re-opened deep historical wounds, reminding the electorate that his political ambitions have routinely been fueled by the exploitation of Nigeria’s fragile religious fault lines.
