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The senator representing Kebbi South, Garba Musa, on Wednesday delivered an indictment of Nigeria’s security architecture and the Federal Government’s handling of banditry, declaring on the Senate floor that authorities “know who the bandits are” yet continue to shield them through opaque negotiations and unexplained operational failures.
Speaking after the Senate was informed of the release of 24 kidnapped schoolgirls from Maga community in his constituency, Garba said he was torn between joy and anger.
According to him, he was relieved that the schoolgirls were freed alive and unharmed, yet enraged that the circumstances around their abduction remained shrouded in silence.
“I’m very happy and sad at the same time,” he said. “Happy in the sense that the 24 girls from Maga, in my own constituency, that were abducted have been released safe and healthy; they have not been molested.
“But distinguished Senate President and colleagues, we must search our minds. As we keep saying, we know who these bandits are. We know where they are. We know what they want.”
The senator questioned why the Federal Government continues to apply half-measures while communities across the North are being terrorised daily.
What is left for us to conclude if we are going to do negotiation, do it and finish it. If we are going to fight, we fight it to a finish. What is the big deal? We know everything. What are we covering?”
Following the recent release of kidnap victims in Kwara State, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, clarified that the operation employed a non‑kinetic approach, meaning it was carried out without any direct firefight.
He said the Department of State Services (DSS), military, police, and intelligence units monitored the kidnappers in real time before demanding the victims’ release.
According to him, the abductors complied “to avoid the consequences”, which the government described as a swift, clean, and life‑preserving rescue.
He emphasized that the primary focus was safe recovery, since abductors often use civilians as human shields, making direct military assault risky.
His remarks have sparked public debate, with some Nigerians questioning whether this amounted to negotiation or tacit compromise with bandits.
