FG vows to crush kidnappers, rescue abducted pupils in Oyo

The Federal Government, yesterday, launched a renewed offensive against terrorism and kidnapping, declaring that no effort will be spared to rescue abducted schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo and Borno states.

Recall that in the wake of the abductions,  President Bola Tinubu ordered  deployment of a specialised rescue team and approved the recruitment of 1,000 forest guards to strengthen security across vulnerable communities.

Meanwhile, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged the  Tinubu administration to urgently overhaul Nigeria’s counter-terrorism framework, warning that terrorists are continuously refining their tactics while government appears incapable of doing the same.

Speaking at a special national security briefing tagged #UniteAgainstTerror in Abuja, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said recent abductions of schoolchildren and teachers constitute a direct assault on Nigeria’s future and will be met with the full force of the state.

Delivering President Tinubu’s message to Nigerians, Idris said: “No child belongs in captivity.”

He assured distraught families that the safe return of every abducted child and teacher remains top priority of the Federal Government, stressing that all security and intelligence agencies had been mobilised to secure their freedom and bring perpetrators to justice.

“The President has directed that every lawful instrument available to the Nigerian state be deployed towards achieving this objective,” the minister said, revealing that a specialised rescue team had already been activated while additional security personnel will be deployed through the recruitment of forest guards.

The minister disclosed that intelligence gathering, aerial surveillance, community engagement and coordinated search-and-rescue operations are ongoing in both Oyo and Borno states, where terrorists abducted dozens of schoolchildren.

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