By Priye S. Torulagha
A critical examination of the circumstances surrounding the Oyo school children and teachers’ abduction in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State and the explanations provided by government officials pertaining to the way in which the victims were rescued creates doubt about the veracity of the entire kidnap story. The Incredulity of the story is buttressed by the eerie resemblance between the Oyo children and teachers’ abduction and the abductions of the students of Chibok Government Girls Secondary School and Kankara Government Science Secondary School. In other words, the kidnapping and release of the Oyo school children seemed to have been taken from the playbooks of the abductions of the Chibok girls and Kankara students.
Therefore, the purpose of this essay is to accomplish three goals: (1) to interrogate the narrative being spread about the rescue of the Oyo school children, (2) to determine whether the Oyo children were rescued or released, and (3) to compare the similarities of the Oyo kidnapping with those of the Chibok Government Girls Secondary School and Kankara Government Science Secondary School. To do so, the following arguments are presented and questions are posed: (1) The narrative concerning the kidnapping and subsequent rescue of the Oyo school children appeared to be staged to generate political impact. (2) The motive behind the kidnapping appeared to be modeled after the April 2014 Chibok girls’ abduction. (3) The official explanation provided for the victims’ rescue seemed similar to the explanation given for the rescue of Kankara students that were abducted during Buhari’s administration. (4) Where are the pictures of the captured kidnappers? (5) If there is no picture of the abductors, it means that the victims were released through negotiation. 6. If there is no picture of the captured abductors, it means that ransom was paid to release the abductees. (7) The story does not add up. The arguments are used as a rubric to examine the subject matter.
1. The Narrative Concerning the kidnapping and Subsequent Rescue of the Oyo School Children Appeared to be Staged to Generate Political Impact
The abduction of the Oyo schoolteachers and children took place after Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State announced his plan to contest for the presidency in 2027. Governor Makinde stated “For seven years, we didn’t witness anything like this in Oyo State. I declared to run for the presidency of Nigeria at four o’clock, and by 9 a.m. the following morning, the children were abducted”(Adeduyite, 2026, July 10), The children were swiftly taken away without detection by security authorities. Then, as soon as he spoke about the abduction of the school children following a meeting with Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, the presidency suddenly announced the rescue of the kidnapped victims.
After the announcement of the rescue, a video of the school teachers and children who are cleanly dressed appeared on television. The victims thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu without thanking the governor and the traditional leaders of the state. They repeatedly referred to the president as a father. The intensity of the greeting creates the psychological feeling that the kidnapping and the supposed rescuing of the children were choreographed to boost reelection campaign for President Ahmed Bola Tinubu. Some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) party used the release of the victims as a basis for launching APC campaign to support President Tinubu’s reelection bid.
Due to the suspicious nature of the abduction, Governor Seyi Makinde called on the international community, especially the United Nations and humanitarian organizations to investigate the abduction and rescue of the Oyo school children and their teachers. He stated: “
Circumstances surrounding this incident are sufficiently grave and unusual to warrant independent scrutiny. I therefore, with a full sense of responsibility, as the executive governoy of Oyo State, call on the appropriate international human rights and accountability mechanism, including those within the United Nations system, to closely examine the fact surrounding these abductions (Onah, 2026, July 13).
Perhaps, he does not want the fate that befell President Goodluck Jonathan to befall him following the kidnapping of the Chibok girls in 2014. It should be noted that the Chibok girls’ abduction was designed to shipwreck President Jonathan’s presidency. Additionally, the governor wants to ensure that the facts of the case are properly verified and documented. The presidency and the National Assembly responded to the governor’s call for international investigation in a frightened manner as if the world would fall apart if such investigation were to take place.
2. The Motive Behind the Kidnapping Appeared to be Modeled after the April 2014 Chibok Girls’ Abduction
It appeared that the abduction of the Oyo school children was designed to create political impact that is favorable to the president and the APC. Perhaps, the intended purpose was to discourage Governor Seyi Makinde from running for the presidency in 2027. In reflection, the plot to score a political point or gain political advantage is like the plan that was developed to score a political point or gain advantage against President Goodluck Jonathan. Thus, the plot to abduct the students at Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS) in Chibok was intended to destroy President Goodluck Jonathan’s reelection bid by portraying him as weak and incapable of managing the security situation in the country. Consequently, the Chibok girls’ incident was globalized very quickly by the perpetrators of the act to stigmatize President Jonathan. Thus, the Oyo school children’s abduction appeared to have been taken from the playbook of the Chibok girls’ abduction scheme
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However, it should be noted that former Governor Peter Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and Mr. Sunday Adeniyi Adeyemo, otherwise known as Sunday Igboho, seemed to believe that the Oyo school children and their teachers were kidnapped to embarrass and destroy the reelection bid of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Mr. Fayose stated in an interview, “I can sometimes believe that the abduction at Oyo School was orchestrated by the Oyo State government to blackmail President Tinubu,” (Adesina, 2026, June 2). On his own part, Mr. Adeyemo stated:
They are trying to do what they did to Goodluck Jonathan to President Bola Tinubu. It is all game. It is all politics. Because if it’s not politics, we asked to face the terrorists that kidnapped schoolchildren in Oyo but they said no. Why no? I volunteered with my people to go there (forest) but they didn’t give us the go-ahead. Leave the terrorists to shoot us. At a point, the Fulani threatened to kill the children if I made any attempt to rescue them. No problem (Abdulkabeer, 2026, June 4).
Both former Governor Fayose and Chief Adeyemo agreed that the Oyo school abduction was politically staged like the kidnapping of the Chibok girls in 2014. The government’s insistence that the children were rescued by security operatives and not released through negotiation showed that the government manipulated the information to score political points. In addition, the army insistence that the victims were released unconditionally after a security operation also tended to reinforce a desire to manipulate the information to favor the president. After the Nigerian Army indicated that the Oyo kidnap victims were rescued through security operation, the Federal Government has not released the pictures of the captured eight kidnappers who supposedly survived a shootout with security forces. Why are the pictures of the eight kidnappers being hidden from public view by the Nigerian Army (NA), Nigerian Police Force (NPF) and the Department of State Service (DSS)?
3. The Explanation Provided for the Victims’ Rescue Seemed Similar to the Explanation Given for the Rescue of Kankara Students that were Abducted during Buhari’s Administration.
As soon as the Oyo school teachers and children were supposedly rescued, Dr. Seyi Adetayo, a security expert and former DSS operative, went on the air to explain how the security forces planned and executed the rescuing of the victims. He explained: “They identified the kidnappers’ mothers, wives, children and close associates. They arrested them, recorded videos and sent them to the abductors,” (Attah, 2026, July 11). According to him, upon realizing that their family members and associates had been arrested by security agents, the kidnappers decided to release the kidnapped victims. As a result, the government did not pay any ransom for the release of the school children and teachers (Ibid.).
Apart from Dr. Adetayo’s explanation, the Nigerian Army also published a statement to explain that the Oyo school teachers and children were rescued. Lt. Col. Danjuma Jonah Danjuma, the Acting Deputy Director of 2 Division’s Public Relations, revealed that the security operation was led by Maj. Gen. C. R. Nnebeife, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 2 Division, Ibadan. He added that the victims were rescued through a “well-coordinated operation rescued a total of 44 pupils and teachers kidnapped by terrorists from Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State on 15 May 2026,” (Dada, 2026, July 11). The narrative tended to create the impression that a firefight took place, hence, the death of a security personnel and some of the kidnappers.
However, there appears to be a contradiction between Dr. Adetayo’s explanation and that of the Nigerian Army. Dr. Adetayo tended to state that the psychological pressure following the arrest of their family members and associates forced the kidnappers to release the abductees. On the other hand, the Nigerian Army emphasized that the victims were rescued through an intense security operation. In the process of physical engagement, an army officer and some kidnappers were killed while eight were captured.
Thus, the narrative the government provided to explain the way the Oyo school children were rescued is like the narrative that the Defense Headquarters provided when 344 students of the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Katsina State, were released from captivity in 2020. The Defense Headquarters stated that the Kankara students were rescued through a combined military and police action. Adelani Adepegba of Punch reported, “The Defence Headquarters has claimed that troops rescued the over 300 students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina, abducted by bandits on December 11. The DHQ spokesman, Maj. Gen. John Enenche, in a statement on Friday, said the military has kept its promises of ensuring the rescue of the hostages” (2020, December 18). The military did not publish the pictures of the abductors, and neither did it prosecute them.
However, in contradiction to the statement made by the DHQ, Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State revealed that Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN)was responsible for negotiating the release of the 344 Kankara students (Auwal, 2020, December 18). This meant that the military did not carry out any security operations to rescue the students, as the Defense Headquarters stated.
In the Oyo School children abduction case, as indicated above, Nigerians are informed that some of the abductors were killed and eight others were captured but neither the Nigerian Army nor the Federal Government has publicly released the pictures of the captured kidnappers.
It should be noted that the Federal Government often claimed to have used security measures to rescue abducted victims even though the victims were actually released through negotiations. For instance, in the kidnapping case involving six Al-Kadriyar sisters in early 2024 in Abuja, the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) claimed that the victims were rescued through a security operation. The family countered the police claim and stated that it paid ransom for the release of the sisters. Sheriff Al-Kadriyar, the uncle of the six sisters, explained the release of the victims by saying: “There’s nothing like rescue in this matter. We paid ransom – even though I can’t disclose how much for security reasons,” (Ukpong, 2024, January 23). It should be noted that one of the six sisters was killed.
Thus, the narrative being spread by government officials in the Oyo school children abduction case is like the narrative that was spread in the Kankara students’ case and that of the abducted six sisters in Abuja where the government claimed to have used security means to rescue the victims even though ransoms were paid to release them.
Other kidnapped cases whereby the Nigerian government claimed to have rescued abducted victims through security operations while the families of the victims countered the government claims by insisting that ransoms were paid to release their love ones included (1) the Zangon Kataf abductions in 2018 (Campbell, 2018, February 18), (2) kidnapped incidents in Kebbi and Niger states in 2025, and (3) the kidnapping of over 200 students of St Mary School in Papiri, Niger State in early 2026 (Ewokor, 2026, February 24). Apparently, the Federal Government of Nigeria has developed a pattern for claiming to have used security operations to rescue abducted Nigerians even though the victims were released through negotiated payments of ransom.
4. Where are the Pictures of the Captured kidnappers?
As stated above, in the Kankara students’ rescue operation, the Defense Headquarters did not parade or show the pictures of the abductors captured while executing the rescue operation. Nigerians at the time wondered why no pictures of the captives were shown publicly to confirm that a rescue operation had really taken place. Just like in the Kankara case, Nigeria did not show pictures of the captured abductors in the Zangon Kataf abductions in 2018, the kidnapping case involving six Al-Kadriyar sisters in early 2024 in Abuja, the Kidnapping incidents in Kebbi and Niger states in 2025, and the kidnapping of over 200 students of St Mary School in Papiri, Niger State. Following the same pattern, Nigeria has not shown the pictures of the eight abductors it captured in the Oyo School children rescue operation.
The failure of the government to parade publicly or show the pictures of the kidnappers creates serious doubt about the rescuing of the kidnapped victims. The reason is that the government of Oyo State announced that nine people, including four victims and five kidnappers died in the horrific abduction incident.
5. If there is no Picture of the Abductors, it Means that the Victims were Released through Negotiation with the Abductors
If the government, through the Nigerian Army and or the Department of State Service, fails to parade or show the pictures of the captured eight abductors, it means that the victims were released through negotiation. Dr. Kemi Olulonye alleged that the Oyo teachers and children were abducted and kept in Katsina before they were released without any rescue operation. She added that international pressure contributed to the sudden release of the Oyo school children and their teachers (Clifford, 2025, July 11).
The Nigerian military tried to convince the public by showing a video documentary of the members of the security forces mobilizing to carry out the rescuing of the Oyo children. Unfortunately, the documentary appeared to be a rehearsed and dramatized video of the effort to boost the image of Nigeria’s security forces without showing the pictures of the eight abductors who supposedly were captured during the rescue operation. Even the two or three alleged suspects who appeared in the video had their faces covered, thereby, adding to the doubt about the sincerity of the story of the rescue operation. Again, the question is, where is the pictures of the eight captured kidnappers?
Since the Presidency and the Nigerian Army have failed to show the pictures of the captured abductors, it means that the children were released through a negotiated settlement with the abductors and not rescued militarily. It is impossible to carry out a security operation without capturing the culprits.
6. If there is no picture of the captured abductors, it means that ransom was Paid to Release the Abductees
The Nigerian government denied paying any ransom for the release of the Oyo children and their teachers by explaining that it rescued them through a security operation. The explanation is not supportable because of the lack of pictures of the captured eight kidnappers. Thus, the Federal Government of Nigeria has developed a pattern in responding to allegations of paying ransom to kidnappers to release abducted victims. In almost every abduction case that the government supposedly claimed to have intervened militarily to rescue the victims, it informed the world that it did not pay ransom because it used security operations to secure the freedom of the captives. In each case, the Federal Government failed to publicize the pictures of the abductors. The failure meant that ransom was paid to free the victims.
7. The Story Does Not Add Up
Having examined the story of the abduction and rescuing of the Oyo school children and their teachers, the veracity of the rescue operation is questionable. The reason is that if the kidnappers were psychologically forced to release the victims, as Dr. Adetayo intimated, then why did a shoot-out take place to the extent that a military officer and some kidnappers died?
Moreover, the picture of the kidnapped Oyo children showed that the children appeared delighted, healthy, well-fed, and wore clean clothes as if they were not in the forest for 56 days. If the picture of the Oyo victims is compared with the picture of the abducted church victims in Ekiti State, the difference in mood and appearance is like the difference between day and night. While the victims of the Oyo abduction appeared relaxed, the victims of the Ekiti abduction appeared dirty, hungry, emaciated and could barely walk. The Ekiti victims clearly showed that they were indeed seriously victimized by their abduction while the victims of the Oyo abduction looked healthy and well-kept. Moreover, one of the Oyo victims even possessed a cell phone in the picture. Moreover, the Oyo children did not wear their school uniforms. Why?
The first picture is of the Oyo School Children that were Abducted and the second picture is that of the Ekiti church kidnapped victims.
Summary and Conclusion
1. The Oyo school children abduction was politically motivated like the 2014 Chibok girls’ abduction. (2) In the Chibok girls’ case, the purpose was to destroy President Jonathan’s chance of winning reelection. (3) In the Oyo school children abduction, the motive appeared to be to discourage Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State from running for the presidency in 2027.
The way the school principal and the children thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and not the governor showed that the rescue was intended to boost the president’s reelection effort. It was rehearsed and staged. (4) The story of the way in which the Oyo school children were rescued is taken from the playbook of the rescue of the 344 students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State. The Kankara students were supposedly rescued through military operation without showing the pictures of the abductors just as the Oyo school children have been supposedly rescued without showing the pictures of the captured kidnappers. (5) The Federal Government denied paying ransom for the release of the 344 Kankara students just as the Federal Government has denied paying ransom for the release of the Oyo children. (6) Despite the statement by the DHQs that the Kankara students were rescued, they were actually released through negotiation with the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association. It is also the case that the Oyo school children were probably released through negotiation with the kidnappers. In short, they were released and not rescued. (7) If the abductors were forced to release the abducted children because they panicked following the arrest of their family members, then what led to the shoot out that resulted in the deaths of a security personnel and some kidnappers? If they panicked and released the victims, then there was no need for a shoot-out. The explanation is not clear. (8) Thus, the victims were most probably released through negotiation and not through security operation. (9) The video being shown as evidence of the capture of the abductors is a documentary to promote the image of the security forces in the eyes of Nigerians. The video did not show the alleged suspects the way suspects are often paraded for public exposure by the military and the police in Nigeria.
In conclusion, since the national government, especially the Nigerian Army and the DSS have failed to display the pictures of the kidnappers, it means that the Oyo children and their teachers were released through negotiation with the kidnappers. The suspicion surrounding the abduction prompted Governor Seyi Makinde to call on the United Nations and international humanitarian organizations to investigate the dastardly act. The reaction of the presidency and the National Assembly to the governor’s demand for international investigation showed a panic response, thereby adding to the suspicion about what really happened. The Federal Government is obligated to publicly release the pictures of the abductors to increase the credibility of its story.
References
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