REVEALED: How Nigeria Secretly Paid Millions to Boko Haram for Schoolchildren’s Release

Fresh details have emerged on how millions of naira were allegedly paid to Boko Haram to secure the release of schoolchildren abducted from a Catholic boarding school in Niger State.

Security sources disclosed that the payments were part of a covert negotiation that led to the freedom of about 230 pupils and staff taken during a late-night raid in November.

According to intelligence accounts, the funds were delivered to a senior militant commander in northeastern Borno State after days of back-channel talks involving government intermediaries. Two Boko Haram commanders were also reportedly released as part of the agreement.

This development contradicts Nigeria’s existing law that criminalises ransom payments to kidnappers and terrorists.

The abduction occurred when armed men stormed St. Mary’s boarding school in Papiri, Niger State, and moved the victims through forest routes into remote camps controlled by insurgents. Over 50 of the captives later escaped on their own before formal negotiations concluded.

Government officials publicly maintained that no ransom was paid. One security agency spokesman even insisted that “Government agents don’t pay ransoms.”

However, multiple intelligence sources familiar with the negotiations described the payment as “huge”, placing the sum in the billions of naira.

The talks were said to be coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser, with communication carried out through trusted go-betweens due to poor network coverage in the militants’ hideouts.

The commander believed to be behind the kidnapping is Sadiku, a feared factional leader linked to previous mass abductions and attacks in central and northern Nigeria. His group reportedly held the children near Borgu axis, close to the border with Cameroon.

Analysts say the operation was driven mainly by money rather than ideology. Armed groups in the region now rely heavily on kidnappings to fund logistics, weapons, and movement of fighters.

The incident also came at a time of diplomatic pressure on Nigeria, following comments by Donald Trump accusing the country of failing to protect Christians. Nigerian authorities and independent analysts have rejected claims that the kidnappings target only Christians, noting that Muslims make up a majority of victims nationwide.

Despite the 2022 law outlawing ransom payments, families and communities often raise funds quietly to rescue loved ones. In many cases, security personnel reportedly act as intermediaries between victims’ relatives and kidnappers.

Security experts warn that the continued flow of ransom money has turned abduction into a structured criminal industry. Recent assessments show hundreds of mass kidnappings recorded within a single year, making Nigeria one of the most affected countries globally.

Officials continue to deny that helicopters or cash deliveries were used in the Papiri school rescue. Yet local analysts insist such operations cannot succeed without financial exchange.

One northern security analyst said the government’s denial does not change what communities already know.
“There is no way armed groups release large numbers of hostages without getting something in return,” he stated.

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