Following the release of pupils and teachers who were abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, Yoruba Nation activist Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, said on Saturday that the Federal Government declined to meet the demands of the terrorists because doing so could have promoted criminal activities and boosted the influence of bandits operating across Nigeria.
In a statement released through his media office, Igboho stated that the administration of President Bola Tinubu maintained that paying ransom or freeing detained terrorists in exchange for victims would encourage further criminal acts and provide additional resources for bandit operations nationwide.
The victims, comprising pupils and teachers from Community Grammar School, Ahoro-Esinele; LA Primary School; and Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, were kidnapped on 15 May 2026 and spent 56 days in captivity before being rescued on Friday by a joint security operation.
Reacting to their freedom, Igboho praised the security forces for what he described as the military’s “highly wired diplomacy, intelligence-driven tactics” used in securing the release of the victims.
He said: “I want to commend the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the military, the Police, Department of State Security and other paramilitary agencies for their painstaking efforts, which resulted in freedom for the pupils and their teachers.
“This development not only brought relief and joy to their distraught families, it has also rekindled hope of the citizenry in the commitment of the Federal Government to tackle criminality and ensure safe and secure environment.
“It is also crucial to laud the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd), the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Tunji Disu, the military, the National Security Adviser, Department of State Service (DSS), and heads of all security agencies for their seamless collaboration, which culminated in the release of all pupils and their teachers.”
Igboho added that Tinubu had remained committed to securing the release of the abducted pupils and teachers since the incident occurred. He also expressed confidence in the government’s determination to combat criminal networks in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State, and other parts of Nigeria.
He said: “Since the day the pupils were abducted, Tinubu has spared no effort to ensure their release. I want to emphatically state and assure that government’s resolve to tackle criminal networks in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State, and Nigeria as a whole are not in doubt.
“The Federal Government’s current synergy with local security organisations to confront criminals in communities will continue unabated as we are absolutely committed to explore all legal means to create conducive environments for farmers and inhabitants of rural communities in the South West.”
I kept all quoted statements unchanged and only paraphrased the surrounding narration.
He also expressed confidence in the Federal Government’s commitment to restoring security in Oke-Ogun and other parts of the country through sustained collaboration between security agencies and local security organisations.
Igboho, however, sympathised with the families of those who lost their loved ones during the Oriire abduction ordeal, particularly teacher Michael Oyedokun, who was beheaded by the terrorists.
