Released, Rescued Or Ransomed?

Nigerians across various sectors have continued to ask questions on the release of the 38 persons abducted from a church in Eruku area of Kwara State, the 50 recovered out of the 315 students and teachers abducted from a school in Niger State, and the recovery of schoolgirls abducted from the Government Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga in Kebbi State.

Recall that in the wake of a threat by United States President Donald Trump, 24 girls were abducted by bandits on Monday, November 17, 2025 from the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State; and a day after, 38 worshippers were abducted from a branch of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) at Oke Isegunand in Eruku community, a boundary town with Kogi in the Ekiti LGA of Kwara State.

Thereafter, over 300 students were abducted from a Catholic Church school in Papiri, Niger State on November 21, 2025.

Daily Trust reports that in the last few days, all the 24 schoolgirls from Kebbi, and 38 worshippers in Kwara, have been released.

Security experts, lawmakers, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) yesterday queried the circumstances surrounding the recovery of the abducted persons. Expressing doubts over the development, they wondered why no one was arrested in the course of the exercise.

However, shortly after the recovery of the Kebbi schoolgirls on Tuesday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through Bayo Onanuga, his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, welcomed the development.

“I am relieved that all the 24 girls have been accounted for. Now, we must put as a matter of urgency more boots on the ground in the vulnerable areas to avert further incidents of kidnapping,” he said.

A security expert, Dr. Kabir Adamu, said the government might be “legitimising criminality in Nigeria” through its handling of the crisis.

He said the deterrence function expected in law enforcement was being neglected, adding that if government intermediaries were capable of reaching out to bandits to secure releases, it begs the question why those criminals were not being apprehended and prosecuted to serve as a deterrent.

“If these individuals I mentioned are able to contact the bandits, it means they know them and know where they are. And these individuals are actually engaged by government.

“So, there are a lot of questions, honestly, regarding this whole activity that does not bode well for us. The fact that they engaged them, the fact that they did not arrest them, the fact that they did not go after them, means that these guys will go back again and abduct more people, more students.

“So, I agree, it’s worrisome, and I do hope the president in particular, would look into this matter more deeply than what we’re seeing at the moment,” he said.

Adamu, a member of the leadership of ASIS International — the world’s largest membership organisation for security management professionals — said Nigeria’s sovereignty was being increasingly undermined.

“In simple terms, we have become the laughing stock of the world. I belong to the largest security association globally, ASIS International. It has membership in 150 countries and I am in the leadership position.

“And believe me, for the last 10 days, I’ve been asked questions: ‘Where are your security agencies? Do they even exist?’ These are what people around the world are asking me regarding the situation in Nigeria.

“So, we are not doing very well. We need to look in the mirror and improve on what we are doing. We cannot have a country if there is no rule of law. And I think that’s the direction we should look at: how do we strengthen rule of law? How do we strengthen accountability within our ministries, departments and agencies that have responsibility for security? We’re not doing well at all in terms of our global standard in security,” he said.

The CEO of Beacon Security & Intelligence Ltd said findings by his organisation showed there are around 80 bandit leaders, each controlling separate groups with the capacity to carry out attacks and diverse criminal activities.

“In my company, we know that about 10,000 people have been killed in Nigeria up to this month of November. That puts us among the five most security-affected countries in the world. And that’s not good.

“If you look at the state fragility index, we’re oscillating between number 13 and 14. So, our politicians should wake up. Honestly, we are drifting towards an area that is not so good.

“And with the sacrifices that we have made in the economic sphere as a result of the reforms that Mr President has undertaken — and we’re beginning to see the benefits — if we do not address this security challenge, I’m sorry, but we will not benefit. We may end up reversing those economic gains,” he warned.

‘Govt must come clean’

He urged the federal government to be transparent with its strategy.

“Are we going to carry on like that where they attack and we retreat, or we give them some concession and then they continue? No. The rule of law is sacrosanct. And that’s the area I want Mr President to look more closely at, to enforce the rule of law irrespective of political leaning, identity, affiliation, political party, religion or ethnic background.

“I think what is very important is for the federal government to come out straight. We’re in a democracy, and the whole essence of democracy is transparency, so there is a need for the government to speak more to Nigerians and make them understand,” he said.

He noted that recent public reactions suggest growing distrust.

“Having monitored the sentiments of Nigerians for a few days now, the government must recognise that there is a lot of disbelief and sometimes even resentment that is building among Nigerians regarding how security is being handled. And I don’t think that’s good for the government,” he added.

Explaining the current non-kinetic approach being adopted,  he said part of it involves tracing family connections.

“So, cultural factors including, for instance, identifying their parents and then using the parents to pressure or convince them to release the victims. As far as I know, based on everything I’ve gathered, there was no exchange of money, at least as far as this process is concerned. But I don’t have the entire picture,” he added.

He, however, said another channel reportedly involves payment of ransom.

“Let us not forget that aside from this engagement model through a select team, there is also the kinetic measure that the government is pursuing side by side. Tactical teams were deployed. The Air Force has been carrying out constant surveillance over the location. That is enough to put the abductors under pressure, making them more amenable to the kind of conversation or agreement that enabled the release of the children.

“What is very clear is that it was a release and not a rescue, and that whatever the circumstances of the release, there was no force involved at all,” he said.

Also speaking, a senior security consultant and Equality Assurance Officer on Homeland Security, Detective Auwal Bala Durumin Iya, raised concerns over the development, describing the sequence of events as “a movie-like trend” that reflects deeper “political manipulation within Nigeria’s security structure”.

Speaking in an interview yesterday, Durumin Iya said the frequency of students’ abductions and the manner in which victims reappear “intact” without arrests or recovered weapons calls into question the authenticity of the operations.

“This is a clear movie,” he said. “No one has been announced arrested, captured, or killed in combat. No weapons recovered. Nothing to show that a security operation happened; Nigerians are right to ask questions.”

Iya argued that insecurity in Nigeria has long taken a political dimension, noting that kidnapping has evolved into a structured criminal economy fueled by ransom payments.

“The issue of kidnapping is not 100 percent to kill; it is to collect ransom. The more ransom you pay, the more power you give terrorists. They buy sophisticated weapons and continue daily operations,” he said.

According to him, kidnapping in Nigeria now operates in three categories; professional kidnapping, conventional kidnapping and random kidnapping.

He said bandits sometimes adopt “conventional kidnapping” to create fear, weaken education, and attract media attention.

“They want to destroy education in Nigeria. When they kidnap, parents become afraid to send their children to school, and even teachers fear going to work.”

Iya alleged that both ruling and opposition political actors have historically leveraged insecurity to undermine one another.

The security expert said Nigeria cannot achieve lasting peace without securing its forests, which he described as the operational base of most criminal groups.

“Nigeria should create a Forest Marshal outfit—selecting youths who know the terrain, training them, and deploying them to protect the forest. When there is peace in the forest, there will be peace in the villages, and then in the cities.”

Durumin Iya also recommended the creation of an Independent Centre for Intelligent Research to forecast security threats three to six months ahead and advise government on responses.

He linked unemployment to rising crime and urged the government to implement the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) system under the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), which allows skilled but uneducated individuals to earn formal qualifications.

“People should not rely on government for jobs. Government doesn’t have work for everyone. Skills can help people survive, avoid crime, and become economically independent,” he added.

Schoolgirls’ release not victory, terrorists running alternative govt – Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has faulted the federal government’s handling of the recent abduction and release of schoolgirls in Kebbi State, warning that the development is not a security success but evidence that terrorists now operate as an “alternative government” in parts of the country.

In a statement issued by his media office on Wednesday, Atiku criticised the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga, over comments made on Arise News, describing the girls’ freedom as a security achievement.

Atiku stated that the remarks were a “shameful attempt to whitewash a national tragedy and dress up government incompetence as heroism.”

He further questioned Onanuga’s claim that security agencies tracked the kidnappers in real time and contacted them, arguing that such intelligence should have led to the arrest or neutralisation of the abductors, not negotiations.

He said, “Truth be told, the release of abducted Nigerians is not a trophy moment; it is a damning reminder that terrorists now operate freely, negotiate openly, and dictate terms while this administration issues press statements to save face.

“If, as Onanuga claims, the DSS and the military could ‘track’ the kidnappers in real time and ‘make contact’ with them, then the question is simple: Why were these criminals not arrested, neutralised, or dismantled on the spot? Why is the government boasting about talking to terrorists instead of eliminating them?”

Atiku also stated that the repeated cycle of mass abductions, ransom payments and peaceful exits for bandits shows that terrorists now “negotiate, collect ransom, and walk away untouched,” while officials celebrate their supposed cooperation.

He added that no serious nation applauds itself for negotiating with criminals it claims to have under surveillance, stressing that the administration has lost control of national security and is resorting to propaganda to mask its failures.

“Under Tinubu, terrorists/bandits have become an alternative government — negotiating, collecting ransom, and walking away untouched — while the presidency celebrates their ‘compliance’,” Atiku said.

Terrorism thriving because govt lacks courage – Rep member

A member of the House of Representatives from Rivers State, Solomon Bob, said terrorism and other violent crimes continue to thrive because successive administrations lacked the courage to confront them decisively.

Speaking during a special plenary session at the National Assembly, Bob said the country’s persistent security crises including the abduction of schoolchildren in the North were a direct consequence of years of appeasement, weak leadership, and deliberate mischaracterisation of terrorism as mere banditry.

“What has happened in this country is an abject lack of courage. Every president since 1999 has demonstrated an embarrassing lack of courage to deal with an issue that has persisted. We are appeasing terrorists. We are placating them. They are engaging in negotiation,” he said.

Bob criticised security agencies and government officials for repeatedly negotiating with kidnappers, saying such actions embolden criminal groups and encourage repeated attacks.

He referenced the recent rescue of schoolgirls abducted in Kebbi State, lamenting that “no one has been taken in for any kind of punishment.

“It’s like a dark mirror. You pay money, they will come back for more. This is not how to run a country,” he said.

The lawmaker argued that Nigeria’s problem goes beyond weak institutions, stressing that the real crisis lies in the failure of individuals occupying key positions to act with courage and conviction.

“Institutions on books are not enough. The most fundamental elements that make institutions work are the human beings. But the human beings are lacking in will, in courage, in conviction,” he said.

Solomon condemned public statements by some influential Nigerians urging the government not to confront terrorists, describing such remarks as dangerous and irresponsible.

“In what country do people come out to say, ‘Don’t touch terrorists, they are our children’? Or even propose projects for them?” he asked.

He called on the executive arm of government to end all forms of negotiation with terrorists, kidnappers and violent criminals, insisting that appeasement only deepens insecurity.

“Government must live up to its responsibility. Go after terrorists, go after kidnappers, go after any kind of violent criminals,” he said.

He urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to demonstrate the political will needed to restore order and protect citizens, saying Nigeria cannot continue on a path where criminal groups act with impunity.

Another member of the House of Representatives, Kafilat Ogbara, demanded answers from security agencies over the whereabouts of the terrorists behind the recent abductions. Ogbara, who represents Kosofe Federal Constituency of Lagos State and chairs the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, said although the return of the abducted schoolgirls brought momentary relief, the nation must know why their abductors are still at large.

“But I want to say that the brief relief felt by the families of those that escaped is overshadowed by the agony of those still waiting; waiting for a knock on the door, for a phone call, for any sign of hope. We have seen the children, where are the kidnappers? Nigerians are asking.

“This crisis demands our urgent attention because children are used as deliberate targets. Schools that were once safe havens have become tragic targets. I think vulnerability for our women and children who face kidnapping, violence, exploitation, displacement and psychological trauma.

“Mothers and female educators bear emotional and economic burdens. Community disruption and I must say that this trauma lasts a lifetime sometimes”, she said.

Ogbara described the incidents as a “national tragedy,” warning that Nigeria is facing a deepening insecurity crisis marked by rampant kidnappings and community attacks.

The lawmaker called for greater responsibility from state governors, noting that the president cannot be everywhere at once.

“Every security is local,” she said, urging the House to legislate a stronger legal framework to strengthen state-level policing and improve communication between communities and security operatives.

Ogbara proposed a set of gender-sensitive, security-focused measures, including the establishment of a National Safe Schools Protection Framework, mandatory deployment of security teams to high-risk boarding schools, reinforced dormitories, night surveillance, cameras, panic alert systems and early warning infrastructure.

Tinubu must be told the truth – Sen Dickson

Also speaking yesterday, former governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson said there was a need to treat the issue with all seriousness.

“The matter should be examined with all the seriousness it deserves. It is very clear that not only our democracy is under threat, but the nation itself is being reduced, belittled, and threatened,” he said.

Dickson, who disagreed with a request in the motion on insecurity tabled on the floor of the Senate, that the president and the government should be commended, said instead, the president needs to be told the truth.

“The seriousness of the matter is such that there should be no sugarcoating, or attempts to be politically correct, as that is, in my opinion, unnecessary hypocrisy and disservice to the country and even to the president,” he said.

Dickson said Nigerians who are presently under attack, displaced and traumatised are looking towards their leaders to act.

“Those with unhindered access to the president – from both chambers of the National Assembly and other stakeholders – should tell the president the true situation of things and the true feelings of the people. We must also investigate the allocations and disbursements to the military and security agencies. We must strengthen oversights and ensure that the trillions that have been budgeted must be used for the purpose for which they were approved. Presidents over the years have released staggering sums of money to the military to fight terrorism.

“With my background and experience, I know that the executive office is an executive bubble constrained by protocol and security that limit information flow to the occupant.

“I urge those who have access to the president to provide honest advice and perspectives that reflect the realities on the ground. “People should reduce hypocrisy: sycophancy, unnecessary blackmail and eye service.  Mr President must be told that the nation is at war as we are losing our security personnel, our citizens, and our territories. Our reputation is being ridiculed and our democracy and nation are endangered.

“The times call for frankness, strong political will and decisive leadership to act for the good of Nigeria,” he said.

On his part, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South) urged President Tinubu to take decisive disciplinary action against the military officer who ordered troops to leave a school in Kebbi State shortly before terrorists stormed the facility and abducted students.

Speaking during Wednesday’s plenary, Senator Abaribe said, “The governor of Kebbi said that somebody ordered the troops out, and people were kidnapped. Till today, nobody in Nigeria knows what happened. No questions have been asked, and we are sitting down as parliament, talking and talking, yet somebody is responsible.”

He insisted that President Tinubu must demonstrate strong leadership by sanctioning the officer in charge, warning that failure to act sends the wrong signal in the fight against insecurity.

Video shows bandits grilling Kebbi schoolgirls

A video circulating on social media showed a group of armed bandits questioning the kidnapped students of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, shortly before their release.

The footage appears to capture a farewell ceremony as a bandit, believed to be the group’s leader, is heard asking the students how they had been treated during their captivity.

“Were you left hungry?” he asked. “No,” the students responded in unison.

“Were you taken care of?” he asked further. “Yes,” they replied.

The gang leader then told the girls that they were about to be returned to their families in good health.

He also asked whether any of them had been insulted or mistreated, to which they again answered, “No.”

He confirmed that their release followed a “peaceful negotiation,” insisting it was not the result of any government or military operation.

“You have seen how the government failed to rescue you. Your release was secured through peaceful negotiations. Our leaders were contacted, and that is how you gained your freedom,” he said in the video, asserting that a non-kinetic approach led to their release.

Govt appears helpless – Afenifere

The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has called on the federal government to embrace foreign assistance where necessary to halt the spate of insecurity in the country.

The call was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the group’s General Meeting held on Tuesday, 25 November 2025, at the Ilesa residence of its leader, Oba Oladipo Olaitan.

The communique was signed by Oba Oladipo and the Publicity Secretary, Prince Justice Faloye.

Afenifere expressed concern that Nigeria’s security situation has deteriorated to the point where the nation’s sovereignty and corporate existence are under threat.

The group said government appears “helpless,” while citizens across several regions—especially the Middle Belt—continue to suffer violent attacks, displacement, and large-scale killings.

The organisation attributed the persistent crises to what it described as Nigeria’s “unitary structure,” imposed by the military, which it said undermines the rights of ethnic nationalities and fuels injustice and instability.

The group stated that decades of centralisation, military-skewed state creation, and refusal to restructure the federation had left several groups politically marginalized.

The group further condemned negotiations between government representatives and armed groups, describing it as “embarrassing” that terrorists attend such meetings heavily armed while security forces appear intimidated.

It called for the sack of IGP Kayode Egbetokun for “failing to order arrests because some captors voluntarily released hostages.”

The organisation urged the federal government to decisively stop killings nationwide. (Daily trust)