FORMER Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, has raised a fresh alarm over the sudden spike in mass kidnappings across northern Nigeria, warning that bandits may now be abducting schoolchildren and villagers as human shields in anticipation of possible U.S. airstrikes.
News Point Nigeria reports that Gana issued the warning on Saturday in Abuja at a special reception held in honour of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, who recently emerged Chairman of the World Customs Organisation (WCO).
The ceremony also doubled as a fundraising dinner for the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).
According to Gana, recent intelligence and the pattern of attacks suggest that criminal gangs are reacting to controversial comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump, who last week condemned killings in Nigeria and hinted that America might intervene militarily if the violence continues.
The former minister said he received a phone call shortly before the event pointing to a disturbing trend: bandits may now be abducting large groups, especially young people, to prevent potential aerial targeting.
“Somebody phoned me just before I came here to say that it appears the bandits causing these troubles are taking the threat from the President of the United States seriously.
They seem to be mobilising human shields, knowing they may be targeted from the air. This may explain the sudden rush to abduct young people in forested locations.”
Gana, a professor of geography, said a closer look at the locations of recent attacks reveals that kidnappers are retreating into heavily wooded corridors that could serve as cover should air operations be deployed.
His comments come amid a frightening escalation of mass abductions in Kebbi, Niger, and Zamfara States: 25 female students were seized from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi and 315 pupils, students, and teachers were abducted from St. Mary’s Private School, Papiri, in Agwara, Niger State.
Multiple attacks have also been recorded in Zamfara in recent days.
Gana urged security agencies to urgently analyse the pattern and update their operational strategies, warning that failure to act promptly may embolden the criminals.
He also advised the Federal Government to deepen international military cooperation, stressing that modern technology allows hostile targets to be neutralised remotely.
“Nigeria needs all the wisdom it can get. These people can be targeted from the air. They should be targeted from the air,” he declared.
Responding to the concerns, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, acknowledged that the kidnappings have attracted intense international attention.
Idris revealed that foreign media houses are already requesting official casualty figures, but said the government’s priority is not statistics but safe rescue.
“As I was sitting here, I received text messages from international press organisations asking for confirmation of numbers,” he said.
“My response is simple: by God’s grace, efforts are ongoing to ensure all abductees are rescued safely, and they will return home very soon.”
The minister also cautioned Nigerians against narratives that portray insecurity as limited to one region, insisting that the challenge affects multiple parts of the country.
He added that despite the security situation, Nigeria is witnessing improvements in key macroeconomic indicators, including GDP growth and investor confidence.