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Oyo school kidnappings end
Dozens of abducted schoolchildren and teachers were rescued in southwestern Nigeria after being held for 56 days, the presidency said on Friday.
“President Bola Tinubu said he was “profoundly happy””
President Bola Tinubu said he was “profoundly happy” that Nigeria’s security agencies had rescued the students and teachers from three schools in Oyo state, after the abduction on May 15.
The kidnapping involved 46 pupils and staff taken from three schools in Oyo on May 15, and the government blamed the kidnappings on Boko Haram.
Bayo Onanuga said on X that there “was no quid pro quo in the rescue,” while Defence Minister Christopher Musa had earlier said the assailants planned to use the hostages as leverage to pressure the government to release some of their commanders from prison.
Arrests and competing counts
The rescue was described as a coordinated security operation in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State, with Arise News saying officials stated that all the victims were recovered safely and that the operation led to the arrest of eight suspected kidnappers.
Onanuga said in an update posted on his official twitter handle that “eight of the kidnappers were arrested and are now in DSS custody, while some of them were neutralised,” and he added that there was “no quid pro quo” because a demanded kingpin remained in custody and was facing prosecution.
Different outlets reported different figures for how many were rescued, with Reuters cited by DIE WELT saying 39 schoolchildren and six teachers were freed, while DPA reported 46 rescued children and Reuters 39 schoolchildren and six teachers.
In a separate account, DW said the Nigerian military rescued 46 children, and it quoted Tinubu saying his security forces “successfully rescued the abducted pupils and teachers from Orire, Ogbomoso in Oyo State” after a military, police and intelligence-driven operation.
What happens next
The presidency framed the operation as ending a siege and standoff of over 50 days, with Tinubu saying it “has ended the siege and standoff of over 50 days and has brought relief to the entire nation and the affected families in particular.”
“has ended the siege and standoff of over 50 days”
Channels Television reported that Tinubu urged the Oyo State Government to strengthen security around schools to prevent similar incidents, and it said he directed emergency response agencies to work with the state government to provide the rescued children and teachers with all necessary medical care and relief support.
The rescue also triggered political and security responses beyond Oyo, with the attack prompting protests, a month-long statewide teachers’ strike, and high-profile condemnation after the raid on schools in Esiele and Yawota.
While the immediate outcome was framed as relief, the broader context remained active in the reporting, including the note that more than 40 other schoolchildren—some as young as 2—were taken from schools in northeast Borno state on the same day as the Oyo kidnapping and were still in captivity.