Nigeria denies report it paid ‘huge’ ransom to free pupils in mass abduction

Nigeria’s government has rejected a media report alleging that it paid a “huge” ransom to Islamist militant group Boko Haram to secure the release of more than 200 pupils and staff abducted from a Catholic boarding school in November. Information Minister Mohammed Idris described the allegation, made by the AFP news agency quoting intelligence sources, as “completely false and baseless” and a “disservice to the professionalism and integrity” of the security forces. He also denied that two Boko Haram commanders were freed as part of the deal.

In a separate announcement, a presidential spokesman has said police chief Kayode Egbetokun, a close ally of President Bola Tinubu, has resigned. The spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said the resignation – a year ahead of the end of Egbetokun’s term – was for “pressing family considerations”. His deputy Tunji Disu has been appointed as acting chief at a time when the country faces mounting security pressures.

This includes kidnap for ransom, which is big business in parts of Nigeria – with the culprits ranging from Islamists militants, members of gangs known as “bandits” and separatists. Some analysts cited by AFP believe that the kidnapping from St Mary’s School in Papiri in the western state of Niger was led by a notorious Boko Haram militant commander known as “Sadiku”, who had previously been linked to other high-profile kidnappings and attacks. While Boko Haram remains most active in the north-eastern state of Borno, where the group started its insurgency in 2009, splinter factions and other criminal networks operate across large parts of Nigeria’s north-west and north central regions. It was announced a few days before Christmas that the security forces had rescued all the remaining pupils and staff who had been taken from St Mary’s by gunmen on 21 November.