A newly emerged video circulating across social media has triggered renewed skepticism over the Kebbi State government’s claim that no negotiations took place with the bandits who abducted students of Government Girls Secondary School, Maga.
The footage, shared by user @AM_Saleeem on 𝕏, appears to show the armed abductors speaking casually with the schoolgirls shortly before their release. In the clip, the bandits openly brag about engaging in negotiations with authorities and mock the government’s inability to rescue the girls through military force.
The schoolgirls were released on Tuesday, with Governor Nasir Idris firmly stating that not “a single Kobo” was paid and insisting that a coordinated security operation secured their freedom without compromise. But the newly surfaced video paints a sharply different picture.
In the recording, one of the bandits questions the girls about the military jets that hovered over the forest during their captivity.
“How many jets passed above you?” he asked.
“Uncountable,” they responded.
The captor then boasted that despite the heavy military presence, the authorities still opted for dialogue instead of a rescue operation.
Another kidnapper pressed the girls about their treatment in captivity.
“Did you ever go hungry?”
“No,” they replied.
“Were you harmed?”
“No,” the girls answered again.
A third bandit, speaking calmly, told the girls: “We will return you safely to your parents. What we are doing is based on peace arrangements.”
The video ends with a chilling declaration from one of the gunmen:
“We are releasing you because negotiations were made. Your government cannot free you by force. It has failed.”
The timing of the video’s appearance is significant. It surfaced just hours after Governor Idris and Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, proudly announced the safe recovery of all abducted students and reiterated that no ransom payment was involved.
The girls—taken captive after gunmen stormed their school and killed the vice-principal—were later seen smiling inside a bus as officials prepared to take them to Birnin Kebbi, where they will be formally handed back to their families on Wednesday.
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The viral footage is now fueling public debate, intensifying calls for clarity on the true circumstances surrounding the students’ release.
