‘Release Of Niger School Children Looks Arranged’, Says Atiku’s Aide

Media aide to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Paul Ibe, has raised doubts about the circumstances surrounding the abduction and release of students from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Niger State.

He described the government’s announcement as suggestive of a staged incident.

Ibe noted this on Sunday after the final batch of 130 abducted students regained their freedom, marking the end of one of Nigeria’s largest recent mass school kidnappings.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Ibe criticised the manner in which the release was announced by Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu.

“Bayo Onanuga @aonanuga1956, the way you are announcing the release, or is it recovery of the balance of the students of St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, Niger State, as if the whole kidnap thing is an arrangee. With the Bola Tinubu administration, nothing is impossible. #StateCapture,” Ibe wrote.

The abduction occurred in the early hours of November 21, when armed men on motorcycles stormed the boarding school in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area, moving from dormitory to dormitory and taking scores of students into nearby forests.

Earlier phases of the incident saw about 50 students escaping on their own during the attack, while security agencies secured the release of another 100 students on December 8. The final 130 students were released and arrived in Minna, the Niger State capital, on Sunday.

The rescued students were received at the Niger State Government House by Governor Mohammed Bago, alongside government officials and security personnel.

Confirming the release, Most Rev. Bulus Yohanna, bishop of Kontagora Diocese and proprietor of the school, said Governor Bago personally called him to convey the good news.