Yobe Commissioner Warns Bandits Are Indoctrinating Abducted Students

Yobe State’s Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Abba Adam, has warned that the Kebbi school abductions signal a dangerous new trend in Nigeria’s insecurity crisis, saying bandits are now brainwashing abducted students in addition to kidnapping them.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, Adam said reports from the field indicate that the abductors are forcing distorted ideologies on the children, a development he described as the most dangerous aspect of recent attacks on schools.

“They are not only abducting them; They are trying to manipulate their ideology in the sense that they will let them know as if what they are doing is legitimate, as if they are being oppressed.

“So what they are doing is not just to kidnap these students and get ransomed, but also they are trying to plant something into their ideology so that even when these children are, you know, rescued, when they come back, they will still feel in their mind as if what these bandits are doing are vindicated. So this is actually the most dangerous aspect of it,” he explained.

He questioned how terrorists were able to move smoothly from their hideouts to the school in Kebbi State and escape without interception. Although he admitted he is not a security expert, he insisted the situation exposes a major security breakdown.

He also affirmed that governors often receive intelligence that has been filtered through several layers of analysis, weakening the urgency of their response.

“It’s always planned and it’s always known ahead. It’s actually true because I believe the governor is the chief executive and the chief security officer of his state.

“However, depending on information from the security personnel, that sometimes may not come at the right time is one of the causes, one of the reasons why we are having this problem,” he said.

The commissioner warned that schools have become so vulnerable that attending classes now exposes children to danger.

“A child that is supposed to be safe in school is now exposing himself to danger by going to school. It’s like these bandits have a plan. You either remain out of school or even when you go to school, we abduct you and then we forcefully ask you to believe in our ideology,” he said.

Adam further rejected claims that state governors are powerless because they do not control security agencies. He said Yobe State has strengthened school protection by recruiting community-based vigilantes and volunteers trained to support formal security structures.

According to him, involving local residents creates a sense of collective responsibility because an attack on one student is an attack on the entire community.

He also criticised the implementation of the Safe School Initiative funded with N144.8bn for 2023–2026, saying the NSCDC-led programme suffers from poor coordination with school authorities.

Citing the killing of the school’s vice principal in the Kebbi attack as evidence of improper coordination between security agents and school management, he said the Safe School Initiative provided clear protection frameworks, yet many schools in high-risk areas lack evacuation plans, trained personnel or designated escape routes.

He advised that preventive measures are more crucial than rescue operations, noting that once students are taken, bandits gain leverage to dictate the pace of negotiations.

“After kidnapping the children, you are now powerless. The bandits now have the power to negotiate, have the power to dictate terms, because the people you want to rescue are with them.

“And when you try to use force, they can also use the force on the children. So, instead of rescuing the student, you may end up losing them at the same time.” he said.

He however, expressed confidence that security personnel will succeed in safely recovering the abducted students.

THE WHISTLER reports that his comments come after In the early hours of Monday, armed men stormed the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, abducting 25 female students, injuring a school guard and killing a staff member.

The Nigeria Police Force, in a statement shared via its WhatsApp channel, confirmed the incident, noting that police tactical units deployed within the school engaged the attackers but the gunmen escaped with the abducted students.

The police said additional tactical teams, in collaboration with the military and vigilantes, have been deployed to comb suspected bandit routes and nearby forests in a bid to rescue the victims and arrest the perpetrators.