The rescue of 44 pupils and teachers abducted in Oyo State after 56 days in captivity has sparked fresh pressure on President Bola Tinubu and security agencies to launch similar operations to free hundreds of other schoolchildren, women and other Nigerians still being held by terrorists across the country.
Families of abducted victims, Northern Elders Forum, Arewa Consultative Forum, religious and community leaders, and opposition politicians urged the Federal Government to replicate the intelligence-led operation that secured the release of the Oyo victims in Borno, Kwara, Kaduna and other states, where scores of victims have remained in captivity for months.
The renewed calls followed Friday’s announcement by security agencies that all the schoolchildren 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.
The operation, described by security authorities as intelligence-led and jointly executed by the military, the Department of State Services and the police, has been widely hailed as evidence that coordinated security efforts can deliver results when backed by political will and effective intelligence.
But even as Nigerians celebrated the breakthrough, attention quickly shifted to dozens of other abducted victims across the country whose families say they are still waiting for their safe return.
Borno victims’ families plead for equal attention
In Borno State, where 78 students remain in captivity following separate Boko Haram attacks on schools in Askira/Uba Local Government Area, parents said the Oyo rescue had rekindled hope but also deepened their frustration over what they described as prolonged silence regarding their children’s fate.
