Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday regarded members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as urban bandits, while referring to President Bola Tinubu’s government as a satanic status quo.

Mr Abubakar, in a post on X, warned that attacks on himself and former presidential candidate Peter Obi undermine opposition unity and do not serve Nigeria’s interests.

The former presidential candidate, who was responding to an X user, @novieverest, added that such internal divisions only benefited the APC, which he described as the main beneficiary of infighting within the opposition.

“Atiku’s people want to insult Peter Obi without Atiku getting the heat back. Maybe they feel Atiku deserves respect and Peter Obi does not,” the X user had posted.

Responding, Mr Abubakar said, “Dear Everest, anyone who insults Obi or Atiku does not mean well for the leaders, the coalition ADC, and for Nigeria and Nigerians.

“The only persons who benefit from such a civil war are the APC urban bandits who want to maintain the satanic status quo. We are better together.”

Mr Abubakar contested the presidency in 2019 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, with Mr Obi as his running mate. The politicians joined a political coalition formed under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) banner in late 2025.

The coalition is gaining momentum following high-profile defections from the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party.