Paul Ibe, media aide to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has cast doubt on the circumstances surrounding the abduction and release of students from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Niger State, describing the government’s announcement as suggestive of a staged incident.
Ibe reacted on Sunday following the confirmation that the final batch of 130 students abducted from the school had regained their freedom, bringing to an end 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 the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
“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 riding motorcycles stormed the boarding school in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, moving from dormitory to dormitory before taking scores of students into nearby forests.
The latest group of freed children arrived in Minna, the Niger State capital, on Sunday, joining earlier batches of students released in phases over the past month.
About 50 students reportedly escaped on their own during the attack, while security agencies secured the release of another 100 students on December 8, leaving the remaining 130 in captivity until the latest development.
The rescued students were received at the Niger State Government House by Governor Mohammed Bago, alongside government officials and security personnel.
Confirming the release of the students, the Bishop of Kontagora Diocese and proprietor of the school, Most Rev. Bulus Yohanna, said Governor Bago personally called him to convey the good news of their release.
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