MURIC Hails Tinubu, Makinde, Security Agencies Over Rescue of 46 Oriire Kidnap Victims

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Nigerian security agencies for the successful rescue of 46 victims abducted from Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State after spending 56 days in captivity.

The group described the operation as a major victory against kidnapping and praised the professionalism, resilience and strategic planning that led to the release of the victims.

In a statement issued on Sunday by its Founder and Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, MURIC said the rescued victims comprised 39 schoolchildren and seven teachers who had been held by kidnappers since their abduction near Ogbomosho.

Akintola lauded President Tinubu for what he described as courageous leadership, Governor Makinde for remaining steadfast throughout the crisis, and the security operatives for their gallantry during the rescue mission.

According to him, the operation demonstrated that rescuing a large number of hostages requires patience, intelligence gathering and careful execution, contrary to criticisms that had trailed the government’s handling of the incident.

He noted that security agencies successfully isolated the kidnappers, restricted their movements and psychologically weakened them before carrying out the rescue operation.

The MURIC leader said many critics failed to appreciate the complexity of the operation, arguing that the abductors had used the victims as human shields, making any hasty military action potentially disastrous.

While congratulating the security agencies, Akintola also paid tribute to officers who lost their lives during the operation, particularly Lt. Festus Isaac and another fallen colleague.

He called on the Federal Government to immortalise the slain officers and adequately compensate their families.

According to him, the Federal Government should consider providing each family with a bungalow, while the Oyo State Government should pay at least N20 million to each bereaved family as compensation.

Akintola also advocated severe punishment for convicted kidnappers, arguing that those responsible for the killing of teacher Michael Oyedokun had forfeited any moral claim to sympathy.

He referenced Islamic law, stating that kidnapping and similar violent crimes attract stringent punishments under Shari’ah, while acknowledging that Nigeria’s democratic legal system follows different judicial procedures.

Despite his strong condemnation of criminality, Akintola urged Nigerians not to allow criminals to exploit religious differences.

He stressed that peaceful Christians and Muslims share a common interest in defeating terrorism, banditry and kidnapping, adding that national unity remains essential in overcoming insecurity.

MURIC therefore called on Nigerians to remain united and support security agencies in the ongoing fight against criminal elements across the country.

MURIC Hails Tinubu, Makinde, Security Agencies Over Rescue of 46 Oriire Kidnap Victims

Kidnappers Kill Zamfara Teacher After Collecting ₦3m Ransom

A teacher, Malam Mustapha Yahaya Maru, who was abducted along the Anka Road in Zamfara State, has reportedly been killed by his captors despite his family paying a ₦3 million ransom to secure his freedom.

The tragic development was disclosed on Saturday by security analyst and journalist Bakatsine in a post on X.

According to him, Maru’s family paid the ransom in the hope of securing his release, but the kidnappers allegedly killed him nonetheless.

Bakatsine wrote: “SAD UPDATE: Malam Mustapha Yahaya Maru, a teacher from Maru who was abducted along Anka Road, has reportedly been killed by his captors despite his family paying ₦3 million ransom.

“A devastating reminder that paying ransom is no guarantee of survival. May Allah forgive him, grant him Jannatul Firdaus, and comfort his family and everyone mourning this tragic loss.”

Maru was abducted in May alongside some of his colleagues while returning to the Federal Government College (FGC), Anka, in Zamfara State.

Following the abduction, Bakatsine had disclosed that the teachers were seized by armed men along the Anka Road, a route that has witnessed repeated attacks by bandits operating in the state. He had appealed for prayers for the safe return of the victims amid the worsening security situation in Zamfara.

The reported killing has further highlighted the growing insecurity in the North-West, where kidnappings for ransom have become frequent despite ongoing military operations against armed groups.

As of the time of filing this report, neither the Zamfara State Government nor security agencies had officially confirmed Maru’s death. Likewise, there was no official statement on the circumstances surrounding the alleged payment of the ransom or the fate of the other abducted victims.

Kidnappers Kill Zamfara Teacher After Collecting ₦3m Ransom

[VIDEO] Intelligence, not negotiation, secured release of Oyo abductees – Former DSS operative

A former operative of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dr. Seyi Adetayo, has revealed fresh details about the intelligence-led operation that culminated in the rescue of abducted pupils, teachers and caregivers from Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, saying the breakthrough was achieved through sophisticated intelligence gathering and coordinated security operations rather than negotiations with the kidnappers.

Speaking during an interview on TVC News, Adetayo claimed that security agencies mounted a carefully planned operation that focused on identifying and tracking the families, relatives and close associates of members of the terrorist group Ansarul, an Al-Qaeda-linked extremist organisation allegedly responsible for the abduction. He stressed that his account reflected his understanding of the operation and has not been independently confirmed in full by the Federal Government. (Trending News)

According to the former intelligence officer, the operation followed months of surveillance and strategic planning after the arrest of two senior Ansarul leaders in 2024. He identified the suspects as Abbas Mukhtar and Abubakar Abba, popularly known as Mamuda, whom he described as key figures within the terrorist network wanted by international authorities over terrorism-related offences.

Adetayo said the arrests intensified pressure on the terrorist organisation, prompting its members to allegedly orchestrate the mass abduction in a bid to compel the Federal Government to release the detained commanders.

He explained that the attackers deliberately chose Oyo State because of its proximity to forest corridors leading towards the Kainji axis while also believing that attacking schoolchildren in the South-West would generate widespread national and international attention.

“The President is from the South-West, so they believed an operation there would create enormous political pressure. These are organised international terrorist networks that spend months planning major attacks rather than acting impulsively,” he said.

Adetayo commended the Federal Government for rejecting negotiations with the kidnappers, arguing that yielding to the group’s demands would have undermined Nigeria’s counter-terrorism efforts and weakened international intelligence cooperation.

According to him, the rescue strategy relied heavily on intelligence, surveillance and technology because many of the victims were very young children, making a direct military assault extremely risky.

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“We are talking about children as young as two to four years old. This was never an operation that required indiscriminate use of force. It demanded patience, intelligence and careful operational planning,” he said.

He further claimed that security agencies identified and arrested the mothers, wives, children and close associates of some of the suspected kidnappers in several northern states before allegedly sending video evidence of the arrests to the terrorists.

According to Adetayo, the strategy was intended to increase pressure on the kidnappers and discourage them from harming the abducted victims. He alleged that the security agencies warned the terrorists that any harm inflicted on the captives would have serious consequences for their own families. These specific claims have not been independently confirmed by Nigerian security agencies.

The former DSS operative also disclosed that troops quickly surrounded the kidnappers before they could relocate the captives from the forests in Oyo State to their operational base around the Kainji forest, a development he described as critical to the success of the rescue mission.

Drawing comparisons with the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction, Adetayo said Nigerian security agencies had applied lessons learned from previous mass kidnappings by responding rapidly to prevent the victims from being dispersed into multiple locations.

“If you compare it with Chibok, the response then was much slower. This time, security forces immediately launched coordinated operations, secured the surrounding forests and disrupted the terrorists’ communication channels before they could move the victims,” he added.

His comments came shortly after the successful rescue of the abducted pupils, teachers and caregivers who had spent about 56 days in captivity after being kidnapped from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area on May 15, 2026.

The Presidency has confirmed that the rescue was achieved through coordinated security operations involving multiple agencies. Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said eight suspected kidnappers were arrested, several others were neutralised and no ransom was paid or prisoner exchange conducted despite demands by the kidnappers for the release of detained terrorist leaders. (Trending News)

Military authorities have also disclosed that the operation was intelligence-driven and involved the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Services (DSS), other security agencies, the Oyo State Security Network (Amotekun), local vigilantes and hunters, whose coordinated efforts dismantled the criminal network behind the abduction and secured the safe release of all the victims. (Tribune Online)

The rescue has been widely welcomed across Nigeria, with renewed calls for sustained intelligence-led operations, improved protection for schools and stronger collaboration among security agencies to prevent future attacks on educational institutions.

[VIDEO] Intelligence, not negotiation, secured release of Oyo abductees – Former DSS operative