Ezekwesili said she was relieved by reports that 130 pupils, students, and staff abducted during the November 21 attack had regained their freedom, but questioned official claims suggesting that all victims had now been rescued.
Former Minister of Education and co-founder of the #BringBackOurGirls movement, Oby Ezekwesili, has raised concerns over what she described as conflicting and imprecise government data on the victims of the abduction at St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Niger State, insisting that at least 35 victims remain unaccounted for weeks after the attack.
In a statement issued on Tuesday on her X (formerly Twitter) account, Ezekwesili said she was relieved by reports that 130 pupils, students, and staff abducted during the November 21 attack had regained their freedom, but questioned official claims suggesting that all victims had now been rescued.
“Data speaks best to me. Always,” Ezekwesili said.
“As relieved as I was to read that 130 pupils, students, and staff abducted last month are back, I was curious about the data of the victims.”
According to her, the 130 recently freed victims were part of the original 315 people abducted from the school, a figure publicly confirmed by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
“The 130 schoolchildren and their teachers were part of the original 315 victims - 303 pupils and students plus their 12 teachers who were publicly confirmed by the Christian Association of Nigeria to have been abducted from St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Niger State on 21 November,” she said.
Ezekwesili noted that the latest release follows the earlier return of 100 abductees announced by the Nigerian government on December 7, as well as 50 victims who reportedly escaped on their own shortly after the attack.
“They joined the 100 that were publicly announced to have been brought back by the Nigerian government on the 7th December and the 50 that escaped on their own shortly after the tragedy,” she said.
Based on those figures, Ezekwesili said at least 35 victims remain missing.
“From this public data, it appears there are 35 victims still unaccounted for from that tragedy. It therefore surprises me to read things like ‘the remaining 130 school children’ or ‘secured the release of the last group of abducted victims,’” she stated.
She questioned the silence of government officials on the fate of those still missing.
“Who and where are these 35 unaccounted victims that are not even once mentioned nor acknowledged in the statements made by Government Spokespersons?” she asked.
Ezekwesili criticised what she described as a longstanding pattern of imprecision by authorities when reporting casualties from attacks across the country.
“This lack of precision of the government on the number of victims has been a recurring issue since the abduction, killing, and maiming of Nigerians became common in this country,” she said.
Describing the trend as dehumanising, she added, “It is a chilling culture of not dignifying citizens, whether in life or at death.
“The public is never provided the names of victims of mass killings in our land. All you’d read or hear in the media is ‘Hundreds of Nigerians killed or abducted bla bla bla’.”
She further warned that such practices damage Nigeria’s global image.
“This utmost disrespect of the dead is a horrific culture that reflects badly on Nigeria and Nigerians. It makes the rest of the world look at us in wonderment,” she said.
Calling for accountability, Ezekwesili stressed that victims must be properly identified.
“The dead must always be specifically identified, and the correct number of victims accurately recorded and recorded,” she said, urging Nigerians to demand better governance.
She concluded by appealing for clarity from authorities.
“If there’s, however, any official statement on the unaccounted 35, please be kind to tag me so we know that they have not been morbidly forgotten by the Nigerian government and the President, like our remaining ChibokGirls and Leah Sharibu.”
The abduction at St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School is one of several mass kidnappings targeting schools in northern Nigeria in recent years, underscoring persistent security challenges despite repeated government assurances of improved safety for students and communities.