Kebbi Schoolgirls: We Are Releasing You, Govt Didn’t Rescue You – Bandits Boast

Bandits holding several abducted schoolgirls from Kebbi State have released a new video in which they brag that the government played no part in securing the children’s freedom, declaring that only private negotiations pushed them to consider letting the girls go.

The footage, circulated late Tuesday, showed the schoolchildren sitting on bare ground while heavily armed fighters hovered over them. 

Furthermore, the captors, determined to prove the clip was recent, instructed the girls to recite the date and year before the interrogation began.

In the video, some gunmen wore uniforms resembling military fatigues and displayed new motorcycles and assault rifles, further underscoring the sophisticated resources the armed group possesses. 

Also, a masked bandit questioned the children about their safety, pressing them repeatedly on whether they had suffered physical or sexual abuse.

The girls responded that they had not been harmed, a claim the militant leaned on to portray himself as a protector. 

“Look at their condition. They have eaten, they have rested,” he boasted, adding that the group intended to release them “based on the peace talks” currently underway.

However, the bandits turned the moment into a taunt aimed at the Nigerian government. One of the fighters asked the girls how many fighter jets had attempted to rescue them since their abduction. 

When the students said they did not know, he delivered his punchline: “Government could not save you. Its power did not bring about your release.”

Meanwhile, a security analyst who reviewed the footage told newsmen that the clip was a direct attempt to embarrass state authorities. 

“This is the bandits’ way of telling the public that they operate beyond the government’s reach,” the analyst said. “It is psychological warfare as much as it is propaganda.”

Officially, the Presidency had earlier celebrated the release of 24 of the abducted students, urging security agencies to intensify search efforts for others still in captivity. 

The schoolgirls were seized at dawn on November 17 after a military team stationed near the area pulled out.

The new footage, however, has ignited renewed concerns about Nigeria’s negotiating posture, the strength of non-state armed groups, and the government’s ability to protect vulnerable communities.