Gunmen invaded the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara on December 11, 2020 and kidnapped hundreds of students.

Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, claimed responsibility for the attack and despite releasing a video with the students in captivity, the government dismissed his claim as mischievous, saying the group had no influence in the northwest region.

Boko Haram's activities have been largely restricted to the northeast region over the past 10 years, with criminal activities in the northwest, where Katsina is located, attributed to standalone bandits and criminal gangs.

344 students, who had been moved to Zamfara, were eventually released on December 17 after negotiations with the government, one week after the initial attack.

Critics have probed for details of the negotiations, with many speculating that ransom was paid for the schoolboys who have been reunited with their families.

However, President Muhammadu Buhari's spokesperson, Garba Shehu, said during a Channels TV interview on Tuesday, December 22 that kidnappers were not paid by the government.

He said the kidnappers were contacted through bandits who have already been reformed by the Zamfara State government.

"The governor of Zamfara State, who had a policy of engagement with the bandits leading to the surrender and renouncement of bandits, used repentant bandits to gain access to those that were in the forest and they had them released," he said.

Shehu also dismissed allegations that the high-profile abduction was stage-managed by the government for political gain.

He noted that only a heartless person could have subjected the students to the suffering they experienced in captivity.

The government routinely never discloses ransom payments to armed non-state actors who usually have a list of demands for abducted victims.

The abduction of the boys, and the latest video, is a rehash of Boko Haram's abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State in 2014 during President Goodluck Jonathan's tenure.

103 of the girls were released in two different batches in 2016 and 2017 after negotiations with the Buhari-led government who refused to provide details about the deal.

It was later reported that the government paid the sum of €3 million as ransom and released five Boko Haram commanders back to the Islamic sect as part of the deal.

112 of the 276 girls originally abducted are yet to return to their families six years later.

Another major Boko Haram faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), also abducted 112 schoolgirls and one boy in Dapchi, Yobe State in 2018.

107 of the hostages were returned by the terrorists a month later, after negotiations with the government, while five of the girls died in Boko Haram custody.

Leah Sharibu, another one of the kidnapped girls, was not released because she refused to renounce her Christian faith, and remains with the terrorists over two years later.