Pressure mounts on abductors of Oriire schoolchildren

•Credible intelligence aiding tracking of suspects, arrest of associates

The bandits that abducted school children and their teachers from three communities in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State are under intense pressure to release their victims following efforts of security agencies said to have identified the associates of the abductors.

Apart from identifying the associates, security operatives are said to have traced them to several parts of the country, a development that has furthered unsettled the bandits.

The kidnappers, on May 15, invaded Ahoro-Esinle, Yawota and Alawusa communities in Oriire Local Government area and whisked 39 school children and seven teachers.

The development has put the federal and state governments as well as security agencies on their toes working day and night to ensure safe return of the abductees.

The renewed efforts of operatives have reportedly led to the breakthroughs which has mounted pressure on the kidnappers

The new move came barely two weeks after security forces tightened the noose around the abductors by blocking their escape routes and surrounding their hideout in the National Park forest, where the victims are held.

Security sources explained that the latest development was a fallout of painstaking investigations, using credible intelligence of the Department of State Service (DSS), leading to the identification of the kidnapping gang and subsequently, launched operations to trace their associates.

This, according to the sources, was said to have put the camp of the kidnappers in disarray, and under intense psychological pressure after realising that security agencies know the whereabouts of their useful associates.

Having realised the implications of the latest efforts of the security agencies, the bandits are reportedly apprehensive and willing to release the victims.

“The kidnappers are becoming increasingly apprehensive. Their confidence has been shaken, and they are now showing greater willingness to release the children,” a security source familiar with the operation said.

It was also gathered that while the clampdown on the associates of the kidnappers is ongoing, a combined team of DSS operatives and military personnel is steadily closing in on their location, a situation that may end the standoff and result in the safe rescue of the hostages.

The recent move by the operatives was said to have forced the abductors to relax their demands before they would release the children and their teachers.

They specifically demanded the release of Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a or Abbas Mukhtar, and his deputy, Abubakar Abba, alias Isah Adam or Mahmud Al-Nigeri, both identified by security agencies as senior members of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimeena Fi Biladis Sudan (Ansaru), a breakaway faction of Boko Haram. The two were arrested by DSS operatives last year.

The kidnappers are said to have shifted their focus towards finding a way to escape, while releasing the captives.

In a related development, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Waidi Shaibu, has confirmed that operatives have recorded some progress in the ongoing efforts to ensure safe return of the hostages.

Speaking during an interactive session with journalists in Port Harcourt over the weekend, the army chief said concerted efforts are on to rescue the abducted schoolchildren and teachers, adding that the move was advancing steadily.

“Operations are currently ongoing to rescue those children abducted in Oyo State, and we are making tremendous progress,” he said.

Shaibu was, confident that the operation would end with the safe rescue of the victims, stressing that the Nigerian Army remains fully engaged in combating security threats across the country’s six geopolitical zones.

Speaking about the successes recorded by the Army, Shaibu said troops under Operation Hadin Kai in the North-East have neutralised more than 1,872 insurgents, while many others have surrendered. 

He also disclosed that troops, working with United States partners, recently eliminated high-profile Islamic State commander, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki.

According to him, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Whirlwind and the newly established Operation Savannah Shield,  have continued to record successes across the North-Central, improving security in Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Kwara, Niger and parts of Kogi states.

He added that security has improved considerably in the South-East, while sustained operations against crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and pipeline vandalism have boosted Nigeria’s oil production in the South-South.

Shaibu described the South-West as one of the country’s most peaceful regions, noting that the recent school abduction in Oyo State was an isolated incident.

He further revealed that President Bola  Tinubu has approved the establishment of a new Nigerian Army Depot in Amasiri-Edda, Ebonyi State, which will, alongside existing depots in Zaria, Kaduna State, and Osogbo, Osun State, expected to increase the army’s annual recruitment and training capacity to about 28,000 personnel.

The army chief also announced that the Nigerian Army had acquired additional armoured personnel carriers, mine-resistant vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles to strengthen ongoing operations, while troops continue to receive specialised training both within Nigeria and abroad to enhance their operational effectiveness.