Security operatives have secured the release of all women and schoolchildren taken during a brazen raid in Oyo State’s Orire Local Government Area, officials confirmed Friday. The operation, directed by federal security chiefs, concluded with no casualties among the hostages, though authorities have remained tight-lipped about the tactical details or whether any ransom was paid.
A government source described the rescue as the product of “days of intelligence-driven maneuvers” across multiple states.The abductions occurred in mid-May, when gunmen overwhelmed local vigilance posts and stormed a cluster of schools in the agrarian communities of Yawota, Ahoro-Esinle, and Alawusa. Among the 46 captives were 39 pupils, some as young as five, and seven female teachers, an incident that reignited national anxiety over school attacks in rural Nigeria.
The kidnappers, later identified by security analysts as a faction of the Ansaru militant group, had issued demands for prisoner swaps and operational concessions. That ultimatum was publicly rejected by the presidency, which instead vowed to pursue a military resolution.
Friday’s announcement marked the first official confirmation of the hostages’ freedom. While families have begun reuniting with their children in undisclosed locations, authorities have advised against public celebrations until post-trauma medical screenings are completed.
The rescue adds to a string of recent security operations in the Southwest, where hybrid teams of police, military, and local hunters have increasingly been deployed to counter a spillover of banditry from the Northwest. Still, the Oyo case stands out for its rare peaceful outcome in what has become a grim pattern of mass kidnappings for ransom.
