“Your Government Cannot Rescue You With Might, They Negotiated With Us” – Bandits Claim in Kebbi Schoolgirls Video

A video has emerged suggesting that the release of schoolgirls abducted in Kebbi State involved direct negotiations between the Nigerian government and the kidnappers. The footage, shared online by @AM_Saleeem on X, shows armed men questioning the girls about military aircraft that flew over the forest during their captivity. The abductors claimed that authorities were unable to rescue the students by force and had to negotiate their release.

In the video, the kidnappers asked the girls about their well-being, including whether they had been hungry or assaulted. The students responded that they had not suffered hunger or physical harm. One of the bandits told them they would be returned safely to their parents as part of a peace deal, while also taunting the government about its inability to intervene. The video ends with an abductor declaring, “We are letting you go after negotiations. Your government cannot rescue you with might. Your government has failed.”

The footage surfaced shortly after Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris and the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, confirmed that all abducted students had been freed. The girls, kidnapped after armed men attacked Government Girls Secondary School in Maga, where the vice-principal was killed, were later seen smiling on a bus en route to Birnin Kebbi. Authorities have said the students will be reunited with their parents today.