*Handed over to Gov Makinde
*9 kidnappers neutralized
By Lateef Ibrahim Abuja
After almost two months in kidnappers’ den, 46 abducted pupils and teachers of some schools in Orire local government area of Oyo State have been freed.
They were kidnapped on May 15, 2026, by armed bandits in the State.
The pupils and teachers regained their freedom on Friday afternoon.
The development was disclosed on Friday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
In a shared post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle, Onanuga simply announced that the victims had been released by their abductors.
“Finally, the kidnapped pupils and teachers in Orire, Oyo have been freed by their abductors,” he wrote.
Nine of the abductors were reported to have been neutralized.
Findings however revealed that a joint security team comprising the Nigerian Army and Police, backed with intelligence from the Department of State Services (DSS) made the rescue mission possible.
Security sources confirmed that, during the operation, at least nine of the bandits were neutralized, bringing to an end the nearly two months in captivity of the children and their teachers.
According to the sources, the joint security forces, relying on intelligence from the DSS, swooped on the abductors early Friday morning.
The victims, made up of school children and their teachers, the sources said, were on their way to Ibadan to meet the state governor, Engr Seyi Makinde, as at the time of this report.
The armed bandits reportedly linked to a Boko Haram faction—abducted 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.
Sadly, a mathematics teacher in Community High School, Ahoro-Esinele in Oriire Local Government Area of the state, Mr Michael Oyedokun, who was among those kidnapped, was later slaughtered by the bandits, who tied his hands and legs.
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