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

[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