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FG Slams Ransom Allegations as Baseless in Niger School Rescue Operation

Samuel AkpanFebruary 24, 20261 Mins read121

The Federal Government has categorically denied media reports alleging that a ransom was paid or that insurgent leaders were released to facilitate the rescue of students from St. Mary’s boarding school in Niger State.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, dismissed these claims as “completely false and baseless.”

He further asserted that such reports undermine the integrity and professionalism of Nigeria’s security forces, who risk their lives daily to ensure national safety.

He pointed out that the same allegations had earlier been strongly refuted by the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services and the top echelons of the National Assembly.

“The report itself reveals contradictions that expose its speculative character, presenting sharply conflicting accounts regarding the alleged ransom. Such inconsistency underscores a lack of direct knowledge and undermines the credibility of the claims,” the statement said.

“The assertion that ransom was delivered by helicopter to insurgents, with cross-border confirmation of receipt, is fiction. The DSS has formally dismissed this claim as fake and laughable.”Nigeria is confronting a structured, profit-driven criminal enterprise. The successful rescue of the pupils, without casualty, was the result of professional intelligence and operational precision,” Idris stated.

The minister restated the federal government’s unwavering resolve to protect the lives and property of every citizen.

Persecondnews recalls that in November 2025, more than 200 children were abducted after gunmen stormed a Catholic school in western Nigeria, in one of the country’s largest mass kidnappings in recent years.

St Mary’s is classified as a secondary school, but satellite images show the compound linked to an adjacent primary school with more than 50 buildings, including classrooms and dormitories.

The complex lies close to a major road connecting the towns of Yelwa and Mokwa.

Residents described scenes of panic as families searched for missing children.

Residents said the school lacked a formal security presence. The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora said a guard was “badly shot” during the attack.

President Bola Tinubu had cancelled his planned trip to the G20 summit in South Africa following the abductions.

The attack comes just days after armed men stormed a secondary school in Kebbi State in northwestern Nigeria, abducting 25 schoolgirls early on Monday morning.