Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has confirmed that his administration is doing everything possible to rescue the victims of the recent Oyo school kidnapping.
Speaking after an emergency meeting on Sunday, the governor detailed ongoing efforts to track down the terrorists behind the Oriire Local Government abduction, which took place in the Ahoro Esinele Community on Friday.
The crisis marks a troubling escalation in the region, prompting an immediate Oyo State terrorist attack response review with top service commanders and security advisers.
Makinde Confirms Casualties in Oriire Local Government Abduction
During his briefing with journalists, the governor shared updates on the casualties linked to the raid. While the exact number of missing pupils remains unconfirmed, authorities established that attackers took seven teachers. Governor Makinde shared news of a tragic development in the case, alongside reports of security forces wounded by hidden explosives.
The governor announced the killing of one of the teachers, expressing his condolences to the family of the victim, while he equally sympathised with the families of some members of the tactical team of soldiers, Amotekun Corps and Local Vigilantes, who ran into Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted by the abductors during an effort to rescue the abducted teachers and students.
Fortunately, the wounded personnel are currently stable. The state government pledged to cover all medical bills for those injured on the frontline.
Dual-Track Strategy Formed After Oyo State Terrorist Attack
To resolve the crisis, Governor Seyi Makinde security teams are executing a dual strategy that combines military action with community diplomacy. He noted that while emotions are running high across the state, tactical patience is required to ensure the hostages return home safely.
Addressing the state, the governor said: “We just finished a review of the security situation in the local government area where the abduction of some teachers and schoolchildren took place.
“First, let me appeal to the families that are involved that their government is working round the clock to ensure that we tackle this challenge. And, for our troops and our service commanders, we have a few wounded soldiers and hunters and other operatives. They are recovering.
“The government will continue to take responsibility for ensuring that they fully recover and look after their medical bills.
“What we know right now is that seven teachers in all were abducted. And, unfortunately, we got a video this morning that one of the teachers, I understand the Maths teacher, was killed by the terrorists this morning. Of course, our prayers are with the family.
“We have decided that we will adopt not just the kinetic approach. But there have been a lot of threats and tempers have been rising, especially from a lot of our leaders, elders, and religious leaders. We have heard and seen your reactions, and, I want to say that we are not taking this lightly.
“I want to appeal to everybody; citizens, residents, particularly those in Oriire Local Government and the rest of Oyo State that we are doing everything within our power to ensure that we resolve this situation quickly and bring our children back safely. But we must recognise that it is a very difficult and challenging situation.
“So, please, there may not be quick fixes, but we will continue to endeavour to push ourselves to the limit to resolve this quickly.”
Suspects Arrested Over Oyo School Kidnapping
Despite the initial setback caused by the IEDs, security forces have made significant progress on the ground. Law enforcement has successfully detained several individuals suspected of aiding the criminal network.
“Well, from the information available from the Commissioner of Police, about six individuals have been arrested within the locality. Some of them, we believe, are perhaps informants or people running logistics for the terrorists. Also, three individuals of interest have been arrested by another security outfit within the state,” Makinde revealed.
Governor Seyi Makinde Security Talks Target Border Control
The influx of bandits into southern states stems from military pressure in other regions of Nigeria. To counter this, Oyo State is working with nearby regions to block escape routes and neutralise fleeing cells.
“We must appreciate the fact that with the pressure on the terrorists and the bandits in the North-West and the North-East, they will keep moving southwards. So, we are talking. The governor of Kwara State has spoken to me but the problem that we have is when you have pressure in one place, we must be prepared on this side to also either repel or neutralize any terrorists that are fleeing the pressure point,” the governor added.
Moving forward, the state plans to reinforce vulnerable locations to prevent future raids. The governor assured citizens saying, “We will keep pushing, keep retooling our architecture to look at the vulnerable points, be it schools, be it factories, be it even folks just driving from one place to the other.”
