Former presidential spokesperson, Malam Garba Shehu, has revealed that the abduction of over 200 pupils from Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State, in December 2020, was the most distressing experience during his time in office under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking on the incident that made global headlines, Shehu recalled calling a top official of the Nigerian Army to confirm the scale of the kidnapping.
According to him, the unnamed official allegedly downplayed the severity, telling him (Shehu) that only “less than 10” students were abducted, a claim far from the truth, as close to 300 students were later confirmed missing.
Naijaonpoint reports that Shehu made the disclosure during an interview with Daily Trust, recounting how he was misled by military authorities at the time, which led to a major miscommunication with the global press.
“The entire global attention was on Nigeria, BBC World, and everyone was calling. So you needed to get the facts before you speak,” Shehu explained.
“The man on ground said, ‘Don’t believe all these things they’re telling you about 280. Those they kidnapped were less than 10.’ That’s what I repeated to international broadcast systems.”
Following the backlash, Shehu said he took the initiative to apologise to the Katsina State Government and the parents of the abducted pupils, even though the military never clarified the error.
“I issued a statement apologising to the government and people of the state and to the parents of all of the children,” he said.
When asked whether the army officer who misled him faced any repercussions, Shehu responded, “I don’t know whether there was [any consequence].”
Shehu also revealed another instance of being misinformed, this time during the killing of over 50 farmers in Borno State by Boko Haram insurgents.
“Somebody was putting a spin on it, misleading me as presidential spokesperson,” he said, though he declined to name those responsible.
Naijaonpoint recalls that the Kankara school abduction occurred just hours after then-President Buhari arrived in Katsina on a private visit.
The incident attracted widespread condemnation and cast a shadow over the administration’s handling of insecurity in the country’s northern region.
The students were eventually released after negotiations, but the episode remains one of the darkest chapters in Nigeria’s recent security history.