A former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has said the conflicting accounts surrounding the release of the abducted Oyo schoolchildren and their teachers may both be accurate, describing the situation as fluid.
Amachree made the clarification following differing narratives from the Federal Government and some of the rescued victims over how the 45 abductees regained their freedom after spending 56 days in captivity.
While the Federal Government maintained that the victims were rescued through a coordinated security operation that involved the arrest of suspects and ruled out any prisoner exchange, one of the freed teachers claimed the terrorists had already decided to release them before security operatives arrived to escort them home.
Speaking during an interview on TVC News, Amachree said the two versions were not necessarily contradictory.
“Both can exist as the truth because the situation is very fluid. Some of them can say, ‘We were almost releasing them,’ and then, of course, the security agents came in and completed the operation,” he said.
According to the former intelligence officer, rescue operations involving kidnappers are often dynamic, with events changing rapidly on the ground, making it possible for different participants to have varying but accurate perspectives of what transpired.
His comments come amid growing public debate over the circumstances surrounding the release of the abducted pupils and teachers, with Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde calling for an independent investigation into the incident to establish the full facts.
The Federal Government has defended the actions of security agencies, insisting that the successful operation was the result of sustained intelligence gathering and coordinated efforts by security personnel.
