BY EDMOND ODOK – The school children and teachers abducted in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State have been successfully rescued and freed after a massive security operation.
Confirmed reports said a joint security team comprising the Nigerian Army and Police, backed with intelligence from the Department of State Services (DSS) led to the rescue of all the victims kidnapped on May 15, 2026, by armed bandits in Oyo State.
Security sources confirmed that during the operation, the joint task force neutralised at least nine of the bandits, bringing to an end the nearly two months in captivity of the children and their teachers. According to competent sources, the victims, comprising the school children and their teachers, are on their way to Ibadan to meet the state governor, Seyi Makinde.
Also announcing the development on Friday in a post on his verified X account, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said: “Finally, all the kidnapped pupils and teachers in Orire, Oyo have been rescued by our security agencies.”
However, despite confirming the successful rescue, the Presidency did not disclose details of the operation or the circumstances surrounding how the victims were released from the bandits’ den, even as the security agencies are expected to provide additional details on the operation in due course.
For now, the security agencies are keeping their cards close to their chests, with no official statements as the exact fate of the victims currently remains shrouded in mystery, with questions being asked if any ransom was paid or if they were liberated through covert security operations as being touted.
Recalled that this brazen kidnapping did send shock-waves through the Oyo community, and the country at large, igniting urgent demands for a total overhaul of campus safety, even as frustrated citizens rallied for fortified security measures to shield vulnerable students, educators, and civilians from the growing threat of targeted criminal attacks.
Reportedly linked to a Boko Haram faction, the armed bandits had kidnapped 39 pupils and seven teachers during coordinated morning raids on three schools in the Yawota and Ahoro-Esiele communities of Oriire Local Government Area, Oyo State.
Tragically, Community High School mathematics teacher Michael Oyedokun met a gruesome fate at the hands of bandits as his life was violently cut short by the abductors in an act of terror that plunged the local community into profound mourning.
