Dozens of schoolchildren and teachers abducted from three schools in Oyo State have regained their freedom, ending a 56-day ordeal.
The Nigerian Army confirmed that troops, working alongside a coalition of security agencies, rescued a total of 44 pupils and teachers who had been held captive since gunmen stormed their schools on May 15.
The presidency separately confirmed the release, with no ransom paid and no concessions made to the kidnappers.
The victims were seized when armed assailants attacked Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School in the Esiele and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government Area.
Investigators linked the attackers to Ansaru, a faction associated with dislodged Boko Haram fighters operating from a forest camp inside the Old Oyo National Park.
Official accounts of the number abducted have varied, with early reports placing the figure as high as 46 or 49 victims, including a toddler.
One teacher was killed in captivity shortly after the attack, a development that drew national outrage and triggered an indefinite strike by the Nigeria Union of Teachers.
According to a statement by the Acting Deputy Director of 2 Division Army Public Relations, Lt. Col. Danjuma Danjuma, the operation was led by the General Officer Commanding 2 Division, Major General C.R. Nnebeife, in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser’s National Counter Terrorism Centre, the Defence Headquarters, special forces drawn from the Army, Navy and Air Force, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services, the National Intelligence Agency, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and the Amotekun Corps alongside local vigilantes and hunters.
According to a statement issued today, the Army said the operation, which ran for more than a month, focused on dismantling the kidnappers’ network, logistics chain and hideouts in the forest. Multiple arrests across Oyo State and other parts of the country disorganised the group and forced the terrorists to release the captives unconditionally.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed that all the kidnapped pupils and teachers had been freed and disclosed that eight suspected kidnappers were arrested and are in DSS custody, while several other gang members were neutralised during the operation.
He said the victims were freed without the Federal Government yielding to the kidnappers’ demand for the release of a detained Boko Haram commander.
President Bola Tinubu, in a separate statement, said the children and teachers were freed alive and unharmed, stressing that no ransom was paid and no concession was made.
He has directed emergency response agencies to work with the Oyo State Government to provide medical care and welfare support for the victims.
The rescued pupils and teachers are receiving medical attention and psychological support at an undisclosed facility before being handed over to the Oyo State Government for reunification with their families.
The Army disclosed that some security personnel sustained casualties during the operation, without providing further details.
Administrator and Writer
