President Bola Tinubu has offered a fuller account of the security strategy behind the rescue of 44 pupils and teachers abducted in Oyo State, revealing that security forces tracked and arrested family members of the kidnappers as part of the operation.
The disclosure adds new detail to the previously reported month long operation that led to the July 10 rescue, explaining one of the tactics security agencies used to pressure the kidnapping network into releasing its captives.
Tinubu’s explanation comes amid continued political scrutiny of the Oriire abduction case, including Governor Seyi Makinde’s earlier call for an international probe into the incident, a demand the Presidency has dismissed as politically motivated.
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The President’s remarks suggest security agencies used a combination of forest based tracking operations and pressure applied through the kidnappers’ family and community networks to secure the eventual release of the victims.
Security analysts say targeting the family and community networks of armed groups has increasingly become a component of Nigerian security strategy in kidnapping cases, alongside direct military operations against forest hideouts.
The Presidency has continued to defend the overall handling of the Oriire case, even as questions persist about accountability for the two teachers killed during the 56 day ordeal.
