A senior aide to President Bola Tinubu says Nigeria’s security agencies know the locations and identities of several bandit groups behind recent mass abductions, but cannot launch full-scale attacks without risking civilian lives.
Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, made the remarks during an interview with ARISE News on Monday while speaking about the wave of kidnappings in Niger and Kwara states.
Over 300 pupils and a dozen teachers were seized on Friday when armed men raided St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State. According to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the victims include boys and girls, some as young as ten. CAN said at least 50 children managed to escape and have since been reunited with their families.
In a separate incident, Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq announced on Monday that 38 people kidnapped from Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku had been released.
Mr Onanuga said security operatives had engaged with the kidnappers to secure the release of some victims in Kwara. He added that while authorities have the intelligence to locate the armed groups, they must avoid operations that could put civilians at risk.
“The security people know all the bandits operating in that axis. They know them, they know where they operate,” he said. “But our people are living around where they operate, so you can’t just go there. They need to be very careful that in the course of chasing these bandits, they don’t bomb innocent Nigerians.”
He referenced a past incident in Borno State in which the military, acting on satellite intelligence, mistakenly struck civilians, an outcome he said the government is determined to avoid.
Mr Onanuga also said there is still uncertainty over the exact number of students abducted from the Papiri school. He alleged that the principal had gone missing, complicating efforts to confirm student records. Security agencies, he added, found the lack of cooperation suspicious.
He noted that bandit groups often use abducted civilians as human shields, making immediate assaults on their camps difficult. However, he said armed groups understand that refusing to release victims could trigger a military operation against them.
Addressing President Tinubu’s recent order directing police officers assigned to VIPs to return to frontline duties, Mr Onanuga said the move would significantly improve security in rural and high-risk areas.
“I read today about 100,000 policemen guarding VIPs,” he said. “If you share them out to vulnerable areas, that will make a lot of difference.”
He said the president is expected to address the nation soon following consultations with security chiefs.
“This government has never denied that Nigerians are being killed. We know we have problems, but we are making efforts to stem these attacks,” he added.
