The successful rescue of 44 pupils and teachers abducted in Oyo State after spending 56 days in captivity has intensified calls on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and security agencies to replicate the operation in other parts of the country where hundreds of Nigerians remain in the hands of terrorists and kidnappers.
Families of abducted victims, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), religious and community leaders, as well as opposition politicians, urged the Federal Government to deploy similar intelligence-led operations in Borno, Kaduna, Kwara and other states where schoolchildren, women and other citizens have been held captive for months.
The renewed appeals followed Friday’s announcement that all the pupils and teachers abducted during coordinated attacks on three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State on May 15 had regained their freedom without the payment of ransom.
Security agencies said the rescue was the result of a coordinated intelligence-led operation involving the military, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force.
The operation has been widely praised as proof that effective collaboration among security agencies, backed by strong political will and credible intelligence, can deliver successful outcomes in the fight against kidnapping and terrorism.
While many Nigerians celebrated the release of the Oyo victims, attention quickly turned to the plight of hundreds of other abducted persons still being held across the country, with families calling on the Federal Government to sustain similar rescue efforts until all captives regain their freedom.
