Following former SGF Babachir Lawal doubling down on his vituperative attack on the person of Atiku Abubakar with a follow-up post titled ‘Kachalla 2.0 ‘ published on his Facebook page, Paul Ibe, the head of Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s media office, promptly replied to him on Sunday with a scathing rebuttal, questioning the state of Lawal’s mental health.
In a statement he released, Ibe questioned Lawal’s mental stability, suggesting that the former SGF’s recent public outbursts may be the result of a “state of stupor” driven by “the abuse of booze.”
Paul Ibe’s rebuttal was triggered by what he described as Lawal’s revisionist attempts to rewrite his “disgraceful public service record” and cover up his alleged failure to rig the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primary.
The Atiku Media aide, while expressing amusement mixed with genuine concern for Lawal’s psychological well-being, accused the former SGF of resorting to cheap personal attacks against the Waziri Adamawa to deflect from his own recent political scandals.
“It is becoming obvious that Babachir Lawal is going bonkers, possibly from the abuse of booze,” the statement added. “Instead of addressing the issue of his ignominious role in presiding over a scam in which he allegedly extorted money to deliver the presidential ticket… Babachir Lawal has resorted to personal attacks against Atiku Abubakar.”
He disclosed that Lawal was stopped in his tracks by diligent officials during the ADC primary, preventing him from executing a high-stakes electoral scam.
Ibe disclosed that when Lawal eventually “sobers up,” he should review the public record of Atiku’s contributions to national security.
Defending Atiku’s track record, Ibe, the head of the Atiku media office, emphasised that despite being a Fulani from Adamawa State, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election has never pulled punches when condemning banditry, terrorism, and kidnappings—even when it involves complex ethno-regional dynamics.
According to his release, while Lawal was allegedly “preoccupied with hitting the sauce,” Atiku was actively proffering concrete solutions to the bloody theater of insecurity plaguing Benue, Plateau, and other parts of Nigeria.
The statement outlined Atiku’s comprehensive security blueprint, which directly challenges the current administration:
Atiku has repeatedly warned that Nigeria’s security architecture is collapsing under President Bola Tinubu, dismissing the presidency’s responses as “empty statements” devoid of decisive, preventive action.
He has also advocated for a total overhaul of the counterterrorism framework, calling on the National Assembly to pass legislation allowing state governments to arm their local security outfits with modern weaponry.
In one of his most recent high-profile engagements, the former Vice President advocated for the establishment of Special Courts specifically designed to try terrorists and bandits, demanding capital punishment for those found guilty.
Atiku has proposed a National Victims and Survivors Support Framework to provide psychological aid, education, and economic recovery programs to devastated communities.
The head of the Atiku Media Office said the Waziri’s interventions and empathy packages have covered every single state of the federation without exception.
The statement advised the former SGF to take some time out to read the news updates of Atiku’s security interventions across Nigeria, adding that Lawal should only do so “when he is eventually sober.”
Earlier, another member of the Atiku media office, Phrank Shaibu, while writing on the same issue, expressed concern over Babachir Lawal’s increasingly divisive and ethnically charged rhetoric.
In his statement, which was also issued on Sunday, Shaibu, who is the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to the ADC Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, said it was unfortunate that a man of Babachir’s standing had chosen to abandon facts and reason in favour of ethnic profiling, prejudice, and conspiracy theories in his desperate attempt to discredit a political opponent.
The assistant to the former Vice President noted that throughout his lengthy public attacks, Babachir Lawal failed to present a single piece of evidence to support his grave allegations, choosing instead to invite Nigerians to substitute suspicion for proof and emotion for facts.
According to Shaibu, the most disturbing aspect of Babachir’s latest intervention is not his criticism, which remains his democratic right, but his repeated attempt to portray an entire ethnic group as inherently linked to criminality.
He said it was both dangerous and irresponsible to suggest that any Nigerian should be judged, condemned, or held accountable for crimes committed by individuals simply because they share a common ancestry.
Shaibu observed that by such flawed reasoning, every ethnic nationality in Nigeria could be collectively blamed for the actions of a few criminal elements within their communities, a mindset that has historically fuelled division and undermined national unity.
He further noted the irony that Mr. Lawal now seeks to demonise the very ethnic group from which former President Muhammadu Buhari emerged. He recalled that it was Buhari who appointed Babachir to the highest office he ever occupied in public service as Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
“At no point did Mr. Lawal object to receiving such trust and elevation from a Fulani President. He accepted the office, the privileges, and the prestige that came with it. It is therefore difficult to understand why he now seeks to stigmatise an entire ethnic group merely because another Fulani man seeks the presidency through democratic means,” Shaibu said.
“What makes Mr. Lawal’s latest outburst even more baffling is that on the very same day he issued his lengthy attack on Atiku Abubakar, he was granting media interviews, boasting about his political relevance and claiming that no fewer than five governors wanted him back in the APC.
“Nigerians are entitled to ask a simple question: which Babachir should they believe? The Babachir who claims to be a victim of political conspiracies and ethnic domination, or the Babachir who boasts that governors are scrambling for his services?
“One moment, he presents himself as a lonely patriot standing against an imagined threat to Nigeria. The next moment, he portrays himself as a prized political asset being courted by powerful governors. Such contradictions expose a man struggling to reconcile personal disappointment with political reality.
“If Mr. Lawal truly believes that his political future lies in the APC, he is perfectly free to return. What he cannot do is cloak personal political calculations in the language of patriotism while expecting Nigerians not to notice the inconsistency. It is difficult to take lectures on principle from a man who spent the morning marketing his political value to one party and the afternoon accusing another party’s presidential candidate of representing an ethnic conspiracy.”
Shaibu also dismissed claims that Atiku had been indifferent to victims of violence across the country, describing such assertions as demonstrably false.
He noted that over the years, he has consistently condemned acts of terrorism, banditry, kidnappings, communal violence, attacks on Christian communities, attacks on Muslim communities, and other forms of insecurity across the country.
He told Lawal to recall that when tragedy struck the people of Kagoro in Southern Kaduna, Atiku did not ask whether the victims were Christians or Muslims, northerners or southerners, Fulani or non-Fulani. Instead, he attended a church Thanksgiving service to identify with the grieving community, commiserate with families affected by the violence, and demonstrate solidarity with fellow Nigerians in their moment of pain. Shauibu admonished Lawal that:
“Leadership is not about counting tribes or measuring faith. It is about standing with people in moments of difficulty, regardless of their ethnic or religious identity. That has always been my approach and it will continue to be,”
Phrank Shaibut further pointed to Atiku’s longstanding investment in education and human development as evidence of his commitment to national unity and social progress.
He recalled that following the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls by terrorists, Atiku went beyond public condemnation by facilitating scholarships for some of the released girls at the American University of Nigeria.
He disclosed that several of the beneficiaries have since graduated and gone on to rebuild their lives through education and empowerment.
“Those young women are living proof that compassion is more powerful than bitterness and that nation-building requires action, not merely rhetoric. While some people chose to exploit national tragedies for political narratives, others chose to invest in healing and hope,” he said.
Shaibu thus described attempts to question Atiku’s competence as an entrepreneur as both amusing and detached from reality.
He noted that his investments across multiple sectors of the Nigerian economy have created jobs, generated wealth, expanded educational opportunities, and contributed significantly to national development long before many of today’s public office holders entered politics.
“The American University of Nigeria stands as a visible and enduring monument to what private initiative can achieve. Thousands of graduates and their families are beneficiaries of that vision. No amount of political bitterness can erase those facts,” he added.
The assistant to the former Vice President said the tone and content of Mr. Lawal’s recent interventions reveal a man increasingly consumed by resentment.
“His heart appears full of bitterness and his public utterances increasingly reflect anger rather than reason, grievance rather than evidence. While we do not share his hostility, we genuinely pity him. Politics should not reduce a man to a permanent state of outrage.
“Mr. Lawal would be better served by stepping away from the politics of hate and embracing the kind of reflection and personal healing that can restore perspective and balance. Nigeria needs statesmen, not merchants of bitterness.”
Nigeria’s future, Shuibu said, must not be built on fear, ethnic suspicion, religious division, or inherited prejudice.
Rather, he argued, the nation must focus on finding practical solutions to worsening insecurity, economic hardship, unemployment, educational decline, and the growing despair confronting millions of Nigerians under the current administration.
He urged political actors to elevate public discourse and engage issues on the basis of facts, policies, and ideas rather than resorting to ethnic stereotyping and personal vendettas.
Shuibu reaffirmed Atiku Abubakar’s commitment to building a Nigeria where every citizen, regardless of ethnicity, religion, region, or social background, enjoys equal opportunity, equal protection, and equal dignity under the law. Stating that:
“Nigeria deserves a conversation about the future, not endless bitterness about the past. Our people deserve leaders who unite rather than divide, heal rather than inflame, and build rather than destroy.
“Babachir may see tribe. Atiku sees Nigerians. Babachir may see division. Atiku sees a nation that must come together if it is to overcome its present challenges. That is the difference between politics driven by resentment and leadership driven by purpose.”
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