Governor Seyi Makinde has welcomed the freed teachers and kids abducted from Ahoro Esienle and Yawota Schools in Oriire Local Government Area.
Channels TV reported that they were rescued and formally turned over to the Oyo State Government by the Nigerian Army yesterday.
The ceremony held at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, and marked the official handover of the victims’ care from the military to the state government, 56 days after they were abducted by armed terrorists.
Speaking at the ceremony, Makinde described the rescue as an extraordinary feat achieved through the collaboration of the federal government, the Nigerian Army and other security agencies, while assuring the victims that the state government would stand by them throughout their recovery.
The governor showered praises on President Bola Tinubu for his assistance during the rescue effort and the leadership of the nation’s security services.
“On behalf of the government and the good people of Oyo State, I want to express our profound appreciation to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for his unwavering support throughout this operation,” Makinde stated. The Executive Branch
Similar occurrences had occurred in other sections of the country, but the response to the kidnapping of the Oriire was unusual, he said.
People from many parts of Nigeria and the world came together to ask for the safe return of the teachers and kids. “I can only thank Almighty God for His grace upon Oyo State,” he continued.
The attack, according to Makinde, was the first of its sort in his almost seven years in office, and prayed that it would never happen in the state again.
The governor promised the rescued victims that they will be provided psychiatric counselling for their 56-day incarceration.
What you went through in 56 days cannot be wiped away in 56 months. “But I want to assure you that you will not walk this road alone,” he continued.
The impacted Baptist school is a private school but Makinde promised that the state government would liaise with the management to ensure that the ordeal does not disrupt the careers of the teachers or the education of the children.
He also said the victims will remain under the medical and psychosocial support of the former Chief Medical Director of UCH, Temitope Alonge, noting that they will only be reunited with their families if they are deemed fit by medical professionals.
“The Oyo State government will do all it can to ensure that there will be no disruption to the career of the teachers and no interruption to the education of the pupils,” the governor stated.
Makinde said that the state government had formally assumed the continued welfare of all the rescued teachers and students.
The GOC, 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Chinedu Nnebeife, in his address said the successful rescue was a consequence of rigorous intelligence-led operations and strong collaboration among security services. Geographical Reference
Preliminary results suggest local collaborators were reportedly involved in the terrorists’ aid, the GOC said.
He said investigations had shown that certain members of local vigilante groups and hunters who had collaborated with the kidnappers were involved in the tragedy, adding that security services and the state government will critically analyse the entire episode to prevent a repetition.
He further revealed why the victims could not be rescued with the use of military planes.
“The place where the teachers and students were held was deep in the forest so it was impossible to get them out by air. That kind of terrain demands our forces to do meticulously coordinated ground operations to make the rescue a success,” he said.
He honoured the gallantry of individuals who lost their lives during the operation and appreciated President Tinubu for providing necessary enablers for a successful operation. The executive branch
He also appreciated the support of Governor Makinde, the National Security Adviser to the President, the National Counter Terrorism Unit, the Special Boat Unit from the Nigerian Navy, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chiefs of Air and Naval Staff, sister security agents and others.
In an impassioned speech, the harrowing trauma that the victims went through while in captivity was told by the school Principal, speaking in public for the first time since he was rescued.
The incident was “torturous and horrendous,” she said, disclosing that the abductors had subjected both teachers and kids to severe physical abuse.
She says male victims were blindfolded and beaten repeatedly, and that children who wailed from fear and tiredness were also viciously attacked.
The most disturbing disclosure of the event came from the principal who stated that the abductors beheaded the school’s mathematics instructor, Michael Oyedokun.
The terrorists carried out the horrible execution to display their resolve and to persuade the government to heed their demands, she claimed. She added that another teacher, John Olaleye, was also killed in the period of captivity.
The revelations threw a new perspective on the cruelty suffered by the victims, and the perils faced by security personnel during the weeks-long operation that finally won the freedom of the surviving instructors and kids.
The abduction of the Oriire school children had attracted national attention and generated widespread demands for the safe return of the victims before the Nigerian Army, with the backing of other security agencies, succeeded in rescuing the children in series of coordinated operations in the Old Oyo National Park and neighbouring forests.
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