Oyo state govt denies VDM’s claim of paying ransom for release of abducted students and teachers

The Oyo State Government has refuted allegations made by social critic, Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), that it paid ransom to secure the release of pupils and teachers abducted by bandits in Oriire Local Government Area, describing the claim as false, misleading and a deliberate attempt to misinform the public.

In a statement released on Friday, July 3 and signed by the Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, the state government described the claim as “far from the truth” and a deliberate attempt by “irresponsible bloggers” to create confusion and misinform the public.

Oyelade explained that although both the Oyo state and federal governments have been making concerted efforts to secure the safe release of the abducted children and their teachers, no ransom had been paid to the bandits, either directly or indirectly.

He urged members of the public to disregard the reports and rely only on information released through official government channels.

The commissioner maintained that the Oyo State Government is working closely with security agencies to ensure safe release of the abductees and bring this sad event to a close.

The rebuttal came hours after Verydarkman alleged that the state governor paid random for the release of the abducted 39 school children and seven teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of the state.

In a viral video posted today, Verydarkman claimed that shortly after the abduction, Governor Makinde paid the ransom but that the terrorists refused to release the victims.

He noted that the students and their teachers have been in the forest for 50 days, saying that everybody has moved on as if nothing had happened.

He specifically mentioned that Predident Bola Tinubu had moved on and every Nigerian had forgotten the children in the bush.

According to him, nobody knows the condition of the victims, “We don’t know if they are still alive or they have been taken out of the forest.”

He expressed fear that the Oyo abduction would not be like that of Chibok, where most of the abducted girls were still in captivity, others got married 14 years after.