Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has assured residents that the abducted schoolchildren and teachers in the state will be rescued, saying the government is making concerted efforts to secure their release.
Makinde gave the assurance on Tuesday while addressing social media influencer VeryDarkMan and other protesters who gathered at the Oyo State Government House, a video of the meeting circulating online showed.
The governor expressed deep concern over the incident, noting that the victims—nursery and primary school pupils—have been in captivity for over a month.
“I am also distressed because I have children of my own. I’m also distressed with what has happened to our children. It has been one month and one day already,” he said.
He explained that details of the rescue operation could not be made public due to security sensitivities, but insisted that efforts were ongoing to ensure the safe return of the victims.
“Because of the nature of the security situation involved, I cannot divulge a lot of information,” Makinde said.
Describing the incident as unprecedented, the governor said it was the first known case in Nigeria involving the abduction of nursery and primary school children.
“These are children that cannot even run or do anything for themselves. So, the operation to rescue them is a special type of operation,” he added.
Makinde also assured that the government was working to ensure no harm comes to the victims during ongoing rescue efforts.
“I don’t want to lose any of those children. I give you the assurance that I, as governor, by God’s grace, will bring out those children,” he said.
He further disclosed that the state was in communication with the abductors, describing it as a difficult but necessary step under the circumstances.
“If governments are negotiating with bandits, it means portraying great sovereignty to the bandits. In this special situation, for those children alive, we have to bear the burden,” he stated.
The governor added that once the children are safely rescued, the state would strengthen security measures to prevent a recurrence.
