Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has said the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area occurred hours after he declared his 2027 presidential ambition, while expressing gratitude to President Bola Tinubu and security agencies following the successful rescue of the victims.
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has suggested that the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area came just hours after he declared his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election, describing the timing as striking. The governor made the remarks on Friday during a meeting with Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed and leaders of the Allied Peoples Movement in Bauchi.
Recalling the incident, Makinde said Oyo State had not witnessed a similar school kidnapping throughout his seven years in office until the attack of May 15. “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,” he said.
Vanguard reports that his comments came hours before the Presidency announced the successful rescue of all the abducted pupils and teachers after 56 days in captivity. According to the Presidency, the victims were freed during a coordinated operation involving the military, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force. Authorities said eight suspected kidnappers were arrested while several others were neutralised during the operation. The Presidency also maintained that security agencies neither negotiated with the abductors nor released any detained kingpin despite reported demands by the kidnappers.
Following the rescue, Makinde welcomed the development and thanked President Bola Tinubu, the military, the police, the DSS and other security agencies for their roles in securing the victims’ release. He described the outcome as “a big relief,” saying it ended weeks of anxiety for the affected families and residents of Oyo State after pupils and teachers were abducted from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area. The rescue operation concluded one of the state’s most high-profile kidnapping cases in recent months, with security agencies expected to provide further details of the operation.
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