Released Kebbi Schoolgirls Say Rescue Followed Negotiations With Kidnappers — Video Emerges
A video has emerged suggesting that the 24 schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State were released following negotiations between the government and their captors.
In the footage, shared by Nigerian Military Gallery, one of the kidnappers is seen questioning the students about the number of military jets that flew over the forest during their captivity. The girls respond: “Uncountable.”
The armed man then boasts that despite the heavy aerial surveillance, the government could not secure the students’ freedom through force and instead resorted to negotiation.
The emergence of the video has further fuelled public debate over Nigeria’s security strategy, particularly the recurring reliance on negotiated releases in mass abduction incidents.
The students, who were kidnapped on November 17, were confirmed freed earlier on Friday following what authorities described as a “coordinated security operation.”
Government and security agencies have not yet commented on the claims made in the video.
More details are expected in subsequent briefings.
