The Presidency has revealed that security agencies have identified the bandit groups responsible for a string of recent mass abductions, including the attack on St. Mary\u2019s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State. However, authorities say operations are being carefully calibrated to avoid harming civilian hostages.<\/p>\n
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, gave the assurance on Monday during an appearance on ARISE News\u2019 Prime Time programme.<\/p>\n
His remarks came amid fresh reports of another hostage-taking in Isapa, Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State\u2014just a day after 38 church worshippers abducted in nearby Eruku were freed.<\/p>\n
Panic spread through Isapa community on Monday evening when armed terrorists invaded the town, abducting a pregnant woman, 10 children, two nursing mothers and others.<\/p>\n
Isapa is a short distance from Eruku, where terrorists struck a Christ Apostolic Church congregation over last week, abducting over 38 worshippers and killing three.<\/p>\n
The media is reporting that the Isapa attack occurred around 6 p.m. on November 24, 2025, when 20\u201330 armed bandits stormed the area, firing sporadically while moving with a large herd of cattle. An elderly woman was injured by a stray bullet.<\/p>\n
A community leader confirmed that 11 people were taken, including seven members of the same family. The abducted victims include:
\nTalatu Kabiru
\nMagaji
\nKande
\nHadiza
\nMariam
\nSaima
\nHabibat (housewife)
\nFatima Yusufu (housewife)
\nSarah Sunday (pregnant woman)
\nLami Fidelis (nursing mother)
\nHaja Na Allah<\/p>\n
Residents said the gunmen moved through the town firing heavily, leaving multiple bullet holes in walls and doors. Spent AK-47 shells were later recovered across the community.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Onanuga said security agencies possess intelligence on the bandits\u2019 locations but cannot launch unrestricted operations due to the presence of civilians in the camps.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe security people know all the bandits operating in that axis. They know them. They know where they operate,\u201d he said, adding that airstrikes or large-scale assaults could endanger hostages.
\nHe referenced a past military error in Borno State where civilians were mistakenly bombed due to incorrect satellite coordinates. \u201cThey must avoid that kind of mistake,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n
Onanuga also disclosed that authorities still lack precise information on the number of students abducted in the Niger State school attack. Neither the school management nor the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria has provided a full register of missing pupils.
\n\u201cAs of now, the authorities are in the dark as to how many people are really missing. You said students are missing\u2014let us have their names,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He further alleged that the school principal had \u201cdisappeared,\u201d complicating efforts to verify the exact number of abductees.<\/p>\n
According to him, bandits often shield themselves with abducted civilians, making rapid military response risky. \u201cWhat sometimes restrains them is the risk of collateral damage,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Commenting on President Tinubu\u2019s directive to redeploy officers from VIP protection to frontline duty, Onanuga said the move would significantly improve security across vulnerable areas. \u201cI read today about 100,000 policemen guarding VIPs. If you share them out to vulnerable areas, that will make a lot of difference,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
Responding to criticisms from religious leaders, Onanuga maintained that the administration fully recognises the gravity of the security situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that President Tinubu is expected to address the nation soon following a series of ongoing security consultations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he will do so very soon,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Presidency has revealed that security agencies have identified the bandit groups responsible for a string of recent mass abductions, including the attack on St. Mary\u2019s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State. However, authorities say operations are being carefully calibrated to avoid harming civilian hostages. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":96095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5807,7],"tags":[7585,911,7519,7584,5339,3760],"class_list":["post-96247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-crime-and-violence","category-news","tag-arise-tv","tag-children","tag-eruku","tag-isapa","tag-onanuga","tag-pregnant"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=96247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/96095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=96247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=96247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=96247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}