Nigeria’s security forces have pinpointed bandit hideouts behind recent mass abductions but are holding back from airstrikes due to fears of killing innocent civilians used as human shields, a presidential aide said Friday, amid mounting criticism over the government’s response to school raids that have seized hundreds of children.
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, told reporters that operatives know the identities and locations of perpetrators in the Niger State school attack, which claimed over 300 victims, but kinetic operations risk tragedy.
“The security people, they know all the bandits that are operating in that axis. They know them. They know where they operate,” Onanuga said. “What sometimes restrains them from going after them is the risk of collateral damage. They go about abducting our people and use them as a shield so that they will not be attacked.”
He cited a past Borno State bombing that mistakenly killed civilians as a stark reminder: “Some years ago in Borno State, when the military thought they had the right satellite connection, they bombed the wrong people. They must avoid that kind of mistake.”
Onanuga questioned the veracity of abduction figures, noting discrepancies and the school’s principal’s unexplained absence: “As of now, the authorities are in the dark as to how many people are really missing. You said students are missing — let us have their names. Let us know what we are looking for… For the security, they found it very strange that they are not cooperating. What is the agenda?”
The aide defended the administration’s efforts, stating: “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… I read today about 100,000 policemen guarding VIPs. If you share them out to vulnerable areas, that will make a lot of difference.”
Tinubu is expected to address the nation soon, Onanuga added: “I think he will do so very soon.” The comments come as states like Bauchi and Adamawa shutter schools indefinitely over kidnap fears, amplifying calls for decisive action in Africa’s most populous nation.
