Images circulating on social media that claim to depict the recently abducted school students from Oyo State are false and originate from an unrelated incident in Mali, a presidential aide has revealed.

Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, clarified the situation in a public statement released on X, formerly known as Twitter. He explained that the viral photos, which show young children with severe body scarring, were actually taken in Mali in June 2020 after a local teacher brutally flogged his students.

According to Onanuga, the individuals deliberately spreading these graphic images are likely terrorist sympathisers aiming to sow public panic and tarnish the reputation of the administration and its security forces.