At least nine people, including four civilians and five security personnel, were killed during a security operation to rescue victims abducted by suspected members of an international terrorist organisation in Oyo State.
The Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Tosin Ajayi, revealed this in an interview published by Premium Times.
Ajayi said security operatives immediately went after the abductors after receiving credible intelligence about the kidnapping.
According to him, a vigilante member and a police officer were killed during the initial pursuit, while additional casualties were recorded when security forces later raided the kidnappers’ hideout.
“Immediately after the incident happened, based on credible intelligence, troops chased them immediately, and sadly, a vigilante and a policeman were killed. During the second raid, more were killed, making a total of nine fatalities, four civilians and five security personnel,” Ajayi said.
The DSS chief described the rescue mission as a complicated operation, particularly because one of the victims was a two-and-a-half-year-old child who would have been unable to flee quickly during an assault on the location.
“It was a complex operation involving a two-and-a-half-year-old infant who could not run much if we invaded the place,” he explained.
Ajayi also criticised the spread of misleading information on social media during the operation.
He said some videos shared online as footage of children being tortured during the incident were actually old recordings from another country and had no connection to the Oyo rescue operation.
“As expected, the rescue operation attracted a lot of social media disinformation. You have to sieve the information there,” he said.
He added, “While that incident lasted, they were posting deepfake videos of children beaten with lacerations on their bodies. They were actually footage from a particular country on witchcraft-related incidents passed off as real-time crude events here.”
The DSS DG called on journalists and media organisations to strengthen their fact-checking efforts and distinguish verified information from false claims, especially when reporting sensitive security incidents.
“Recall the victims recounted how well-treated they were by the criminals. So, one of the things I’d like you to do in the media is fact-finding and separating facts from fiction,” he said.
Ajayi identified the group behind the abduction as an international terrorist organisation with links to Al-Qaeda, saying the DSS had previously apprehended some of its leaders.
He said the arrested leaders were connected to the Abuja-Kaduna train attack and had allegedly been preparing to carry out additional kidnappings involving foreigners, students, women and children.
“Citizens ought to know that the incarcerated leaders of the kidnap group who were requested in exchange for the victims were arrested last year by the Service; their arrest helped to prevent high-profile attacks,” Ajayi said.
He added that the suspects were “found complicit in the Abuja/Kaduna train attack and were planning more kidnappings of foreigners, students, women and their children on a large scale.”
According to the DSS chief, the group was seeking recognition as a state and wanted freedom to practise its religion within a designated territory. He said the arrest of its leaders was therefore part of proactive security measures.
Ajayi disclosed that the alleged kingpins, alongside three other collaborators, had received life sentences, although the DSS intends to push for harsher punishment.
“The kingpins are the ones now sentenced to life imprisonment. The three other collaborators earned life imprisonment, and the Service will push for a stiffer penalty,” he said.
The abduction in Oyo State reportedly took place on May 15, 2026, when armed attackers stormed three schools in Oriire Local Government Area and abducted pupils and teachers.
Security agencies later carried out a coordinated operation that resulted in the rescue of the victims.
