Security Agencies Know Location Of Bandits But Can’t Strike, Says Onanuga

Presidential Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has said that Nigeria’s security agencies know the identities and locations of the bandit groups responsible for the recent mass abductions, including the attack on St Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, Niger State.

THE WHISTLER reports that armed bandits kidnapped 303 children and 12 teachers from the St. Mary’s Private Catholic school, Papiri, Niger State, on Friday, according to CAN. The students are both male and female, some as young as ten.

However, Fifty students who were abducted have returned to their families after they managed to escape, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said on Sunday.

“The pupils escaped between Friday and Saturday and have reunited with their parents as they could not return to the school after they escaped,” spokesman for CAN’s Niger State chapter chairman Rev.
Bulus Yohanna, Daniel Atori, said in a statement.

Also, Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, on Monday, had announced the release of 38 persons who were recently abducted during an attack on Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Ekiti Local Government Area of the state.

Speaking during an interview with ARISE News on Monday, Onanuga said that the bandits were contacted to release the abducted persons in Kwara and they did.

He also said security knows these bandits but despite this intelligence capability, the government cannot simply bomb suspected enclaves.

“The security people, they know all the bandits that are operating in that axis. They know them. They know where they operate 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 go and bomb innocent Nigerians,” he noted.

He recalled a previous incident in Borno State where the military, acting on what it believed was accurate satellite intelligence, mistakenly bombed civilians, warning that such errors must be avoided.

According to him, uncertainty persists around the exact number of abducted students because the school and the Niger State branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have not provided complete records.

He alleged that the school principal had disappeared, further obstructing verification saying security agencies found the lack of cooperation suspicious, questioning the motive behind it.

Onanuga further explained that security forces are sometimes unable to immediately raid bandit camps after abductions due to the high risk of collateral damage, noting that abductors often use victims as human shields to deter attacks.

He added that bandits are aware of the repercussions of resisting government pressure, saying they know that refusing to release captives could prompt the government to launch kinetic operations against their bases.

On the President’s decision to redeploy officers from VIP protection to frontline duty, Onanuga said it would significantly improve security coverage in vulnerable communities.

“I read today about 100,000 policemen guarding VIPs. If you share them out to vulnerable areas, that will make a lot of difference,” he said.

He insisted that the administration recognises the seriousness of the situation saying that President Bola Tinubu is expected to address Nigerians soon following security consultations.

“This government has never denied that Nigerians are being killed. We know we have problems, but we are making efforts to ensure that we stem all these things,” he said.