Former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of fostering violence, warning that any politician who relies on intimidation to win elections is desperate, unpopular, and a threat to democracy.

In a statement on Tuesday, Atiku alleged that the APC had deployed thugs and hired hooligans to disrupt political meetings in Kaduna, Kebbi, and Ogun states.

He also criticised the Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu, accusing it of failing to protect lives and property, particularly in the North-Central region, which he described as a “killing field.”

“At a time when the Tinubu-led Federal Government is busy breaking up opposition meetings, Kwara, once a safe state, has become a hotspot for banditry and kidnappings,” Atiku said.

“Niger State has witnessed militants attack military bases, murder soldiers, and massacre worshippers in a mosque. Plateau and Benue continue to bury their dead while the Federal Government looks away,” he added.

The former vice president lamented that in just two years of Tinubu’s administration, over 10,000 lives had been lost in northern states, with Benue alone accounting for more than half.

“Since then, mass killings continue weekly, while the government pretends nothing is wrong. This is a monumental failure in the basic duty of securing lives and property.

“In each case, security forces failed to act and even blamed the victims. The silence of the APC leadership is proof of complicity.

“We remind the Nigeria Police: you are funded by taxpayers, not by the APC. Your duty is to remain neutral, fair, and constitutional. Anything less is a betrayal of public trust,” he added.