A new video circulating widely on X has surfaced showing the 31 students of Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, interacting with their heavily armed captors just moments before they were handed over to authorities on Tuesday.
The footage, recorded in a forested area, captures the bandits questioning the schoolgirls about their treatment during captivity, with the girls confirming they were fed and not physically harmed.
The kidnappers appear eager to portray themselves as having acted humanely, repeatedly asking the visibly exhausted students if they were treated well, left hungry, or assaulted, to which the girls uniformly responded in the negative.
In the closing moments of the clip, one of the masked gunmen openly boasts that the release came only after “intense negotiations” with the government, directly contradicting official claims that no ransom was paid.
“We are letting you go after negotiations. Your government cannot rescue you with might. Your government has failed,” the bandit declares, adding that the girls were being returned “based on peace deals” and would be taken home safely to their parents.
The video also shows the girls acknowledging the presence of “plenty” military helicopters hovering overhead during their ordeal, underscoring the heavy security presence that ultimately failed to secure a forceful rescue.
The emergence of the footage has reignited public debate over the Kebbi State government’s insistence that the students were freed without any financial payment to the armed group.