A disturbing video has surfaced online showing the moment terrorists addressed the kidnapped schoolgirls from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, as they were being freed by their abductors.
In the footage, which has now gone viral, one of the armed men is heard telling the girls that their release was not the result of a government rescue effort but a decision taken solely by the kidnappers.
“We are releasing you… the government did not rescue you,” the terrorist declared, directly instructing the frightened schoolgirls to repeat his words on camera. The girls, visibly exhausted and shaken, echoed the statement under duress.
The video has intensified public outrage, coming just days after the abduction of the 24 students during a pre-dawn attack on their school, which also left a staff member dead and a security guard critically injured.
Security agencies have yet to confirm the circumstances surrounding the release or the authenticity of claims made by the terrorists in the video. However, the footage has raised serious questions about the government’s capacity to handle Nigeria’s escalating wave of school abductions.
Human rights groups and education advocates have condemned the incident, warning that terrorist propaganda of this nature undermines public confidence and emboldens criminal groups across the region.
As the rescued schoolgirls undergo medical evaluation and trauma counselling, calls are growing for urgent federal and state action to strengthen school security, accelerate the Safe Schools Initiative, and ensure that the perpetrators of the attack are brought to justice.
The Kebbi abduction is the latest in a series of attacks targeting educational institutions in northern Nigeria, fueling fears that students and teachers remain extremely vulnerable to extremist and bandit networks operating across the region.
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