No Ransom, No Negotiation: President Reveals Intelligence Behind Oriire School Rescue

No Ransom, No Negotiation: President Reveals Intelligence Behind Oriire School Rescue

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has publicly revealed the intelligence-driven strategy behind the successful rescue of 46 schoolchildren and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, confirming that security forces tracked and arrested the families of the kidnappers to pressure the terrorists into releasing their captives—without paying ransom or negotiating with criminals. The President made the disclosure on Thursday while receiving a delegation of traditional rulers from Oyo State, led by the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The visit was a thank-you mission to appreciate the Federal Government and the Armed Forces for securing the release of the victims after they spent 56 days in captivity.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the victims were rescued on July 10, Tinubu said the kidnappers presented two conditions for the release of the hostages: a demand for money and the release of detained members of their criminal gang who were already in custody. The Federal Government rejected both demands outright. “We refuse to negotiate for ransom. These criminals wanted us to release from detention members of their criminal gangs that were already arrested. That was one of their conditions, outside of the money they were looking for. And we said no deal. We are not going to negotiate with criminals. They committed murder, and we were ready to finish with their families, members of their own communities. They grew up somewhere,” the President stated. He emphasised that the government’s refusal to negotiate was aided by the military’s detailed knowledge of the forest terrain where the kidnappers were holed up. “We refused to pay ransom. We have the geography of the forest. We know what it is, and in answer to it, you’ve seen that from eight divisions, we are now moving to 12 divisions, to shorten the response time and give that response time the teeth needed to defeat terrorism and banditry,” he said.

According to security sources, the operation was driven by intelligence that led operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) to track down and arrest several wives and children of the suspected kidnappers across different communities and cities nationwide. The family members were subsequently moved to Abuja, where they were interrogated in accordance with investigative procedures. Investigators believe the arrest of the terrorists’ family members reduced the likelihood that the abductors would harm the hostages, fearing possible consequences for their own relatives. Security sources further disclosed that video recordings of the interrogations were somehow leaked to the kidnappers, a development that reportedly unsettled the terrorists and made them more responsive to negotiations. “The kidnappers suddenly became more responsive. They abandoned their earlier hardline position and started making frequent contact instead of disappearing after making demands,” one source said. The terrorists thereafter proposed releasing the abducted schoolchildren and teachers in exchange for the freedom of their wives and guarantees of safe passage. However, security agencies rejected the proposal, insisting that the captives must first be released unconditionally. A source familiar with the operation disclosed that the final order to storm the camp was issued on Thursday night after fresh intelligence confirmed that the abducted schoolchildren and teachers were no longer being used as human shields. The assault was swift, well coordinated, and backed by overwhelming firepower, catching the terrorists off guard. During the operation, scores of terrorists were killed, while eight others were arrested.

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In a related development, the Department of State Services has arraigned five men accused of complicity in the May 15 kidnapping and the subsequent killing of two victims. The five alleged members of the Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (Ansaru) terrorist group were identified as Mahmud Muhammad (aka Abu Bara’a, Abbas Mukhtar); Abubakar Abbas (aka Isah Adam, Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri); Abdulrazak Umar (aka Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid); Yunusa Musa (aka Abu Yunusa Bin Musa); and Shamsu Adamu Sani (aka Abu Itisar). In count one of the charge, Muhammad and Abbas were accused of ordering their foot soldiers within Ansaru, including Umar, Musa and Sani, to kidnap and kill people across the country in the event of their arrest, in order to compel the government to accede to their demands. In count two, the DSS alleged that the May 15 kidnapping of pupils and teachers in Oriire and the killing of two of the victims were carried out in furtherance of that order. The five pleaded not guilty when each count on the charge sheet was read to them. Justice Salim Ibrahim granted the prosecution’s request to remand the defendants in DSS custody, ordering that they be given unhindered access to their lawyers and two members of their immediate families, and that they be accorded adequate medical attention. The case was adjourned till September 25 for the commencement of trial.

President Tinubu revealed that the lessons learned from the Oriire abduction prompted a review of the country’s security architecture, leading to his directive to expand the Nigerian Army from eight to 12 divisions. The expansion, which also includes the recruitment of 28,000 additional personnel, aims to shorten response time, decentralise operational decision-making, and strengthen border security and counter-insurgency operations. Under the new structure, the Army will operate 12 divisions strategically located across the country, with new divisions established in Makurdi (Benue State), Ilorin (Kwara State), Jalingo (Taraba State), and Benin City (Edo State). The implementation will be carried out in two phases, with the first phase expected to be completed by September 2026 and the second phase by December 2026. The President also announced plans to establish state police with safeguards against abuse and to enhance the capacity of forest guards to combat criminal elements operating in forests. “They are not just to chase antelopes and animals. We are going to have them chase the criminals and deal with them in various forests,” Tinubu said.

Oba Ladoja, speaking on behalf of the delegation, said the traditional rulers had confidence in the capability of Nigerian security agencies but remained apprehensive about the victims’ safe return. He expressed gratitude to the President and all stakeholders for their efforts in securing the rescue. The Olubadan also used the occasion to thank the Tinubu administration for ongoing and proposed federal road projects aimed at improving connectivity across Oyo State, including the dualisation of the Ibadan-Ijebu Ode Road, Ogbomoso-Ilorin Road, and the Badagry-Sokoto Highway passing through the Ibarapa and Oke-Ogun axis of the state.

The Oriire school attack occurred on May 15, 2026, when gunmen stormed three schools—Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School—in Esiele and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government Area, abducting about 39 pupils and seven teachers. A mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded during the attack, and another teacher, Deacon John Olaleye, was later killed in captivity. The victims regained their freedom on July 10 after spending 56 days in captivity in an intelligence-led operation that resulted in the arrest of eight suspected kidnappers without the payment of ransom.

No Ransom, No Negotiation: President Reveals Intelligence Behind Oriire School Rescue