Boko Haram Plants IEDs, to Stall Oyo School Rescue

Boko Haram terrorists holding over 40 pupils and teachers abducted from three primary schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State have planted improvised explosive devices and are frequently changing locations within the Oyo National Park to frustrate rescue operations, Saturday PUNCH reported on June 21, 2026, as the crisis entered its sixth week.

Security sources told the newspaper that the terrorists, identified as members of Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad, had also deliberately orchestrated attacks in other parts of the country as a strategy to divert security resources and thin out the presence of troops focused on the Oyo forest operation. A retired Brigadier-General, John Sura, confirmed this tactic, warning that security agencies must not be distracted by the coordinated surge in violence elsewhere.

Makinde Confirms Soldier Killed in Operation

Governor Seyi Makinde, addressing protesters including VeryDarkMan and others at Government House in Ibadan, confirmed that security forces had suffered casualties during the ongoing rescue operation. ‘We have lost men, even soldiers and officers. I can confirm to you that a lieutenant in the Nigerian Army was killed two days ago,’ the governor said, acknowledging the deep distress he shared with the families of the victims.

Makinde told the protesters he could not disclose full operational details due to the sensitive nature of the rescue effort but assured them the children were believed to be alive and that intensive operations were continuing. Police spokesperson Ayanlade Olayinka separately debunked viral social media claims that the victims had been rescued, describing the posts as false, misleading, and dangerous to ongoing operations.

Kidnappers Demand Sharia and Livestock

Furthermore, the abducted vice principal of Community Grammar School, Folawe Alamu, reportedly denied kidnappers’ demands linked to Sharia and livestock in communications intercepted by security agencies. The revelation adds another layer of complexity to negotiations. Consequently, the Oyo abduction has now entered its sixth week as Nigeria’s most prolonged unresolved school kidnapping crisis in the southwest, with Boko Haram’s tactical resistance making a quick resolution increasingly difficult.