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Oyo Governor Rejoices Over Rescue of Abducted Teachers, Pupils

by admin on | 2026-07-11 13:03:53

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Oyo Governor Rejoices Over Rescue of Abducted Teachers, Pupils

From Ahmad Sirajo Makama, Abuja

The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has expressed overwhelming joy following the successful rescue of the teachers and pupils abducted from the Oriire Local Government Area of the state, considered a major victory against banditry in the Southwest.

Reacting to the successful safe extraction of the hostages, Governor Makinde, visibly moved, speaking on the phone from the Government House, said his emotions had overcome his capacity to give a formal speech. 

The governor stated: "I think I am just right now overjoyed and I can hardly say much. I will talk much later when I can put my thoughts together." 

He lauded the resilience and coordination of the security forces who broke the back of the criminal cartel without further casualties among the children. 

Makinde said: "We use the opportunity to say thank you to our service commanders, the Nigerian Police, the DSS, the military, and the high command, and of course, the President, for pushing really hard to have this done."

The governor recognised the immense role played by the media in keeping the government and security forces on their toes during the gruelling 56-day ordeal, commending journalists for sustaining public interest, which kept the federal security apparatus focused on Oyo State. 

He noted: "We are also grateful to the press for sustaining the pressure on everybody until we got to this point. The media's constant reporting had amplified the calls of protesting parents and civil groups, ensuring that the rescue did not lose momentum."

The victims, who spent exactly 56 days in the dense thickets of the Old Oyo National Park under harrowing conditions, were freed following a sustained, high-stakes joint operation by Nigeria's military, police, and intelligence units. 

The rescue ends nearly two months of psychological trauma for parents, local communities, and the state government, which had been thrown into a state of panic since the unprecedented mass abduction occurred.

Security analysts opined that the implications of the successful operation are far-reaching for the security architecture of the Southwest zone, noting that the rescue has prevented the establishment of a dangerous "Chibok-style" permanent bandit camp in the Old Oyo National Park. 

They argued that had the bandits succeeded in holding the children indefinitely or forcing the government into surrendering its sovereignty through massive ransoms, it would have emboldened syndicates to establish permanent strongholds across the region's vast forest reserves. 

The analysts said the decisive nature of the rescue validates Governor Makinde’s proactive procurement of advanced surveillance aircraft and confirms that close intelligence collaboration between state executives and federal forces can effectively neutralise cross-border terrorism.

The crisis began on May 15, 2026, when heavily armed bandits launched simultaneous raids on schools within the Ahoro-Dada, Yawota, and Esiele farming settlements in Oriire, marching 18 nursery and primary school pupils, seven secondary school students, and seven teachers into the vast forest reserve. 

The incident sent shockwaves across the nation, primarily because it marked the first time bandits targeted vulnerable nursery and primary school children in Southern Nigeria. 

The abduction took a tragic turn early on when the bandits brutally murdered one of the teachers, Michael Oyedokun. 

The rescue operation itself came at a high cost, with Governor Makinde previously confirming that an Army Lieutenant was killed during an intense exchange with the terrorists in the forest.