An evidently elated President Bola Tinubu, Thursday last week, told a delegation of Oyo State traditional rulers in Abuja led by the Olubadan of Ibadan,Oba Rashidi Ladoja that the Federal Government refused to negotiate with or pay ransom to the terrorists who kidnapped schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire last May.
President Tinubu stressed that the abductors demanded both money and the release of jailed members of their gang but insisted that both demands were flatly rejected. That narrative was geared at reassuring Nigerians that there’s still a government in place committed to the security of lives and property of citizens if not proactively then through some reactionary rescue after some 56 days in captivity .
He further described the military-led rescue that freed the victims as intelligence-driven and successful without ransom.
As reassuring as that might sound to some ears, it however remains equally instructive that Mr President’s narrative appears sharply contradictory to what is on the public purview about a N5 Billion ransom that was released and N1.1 Billion getting to the abductors while N3.9 Billion ended up with the appointed negotiators and mediators including a serving Senator from Borno South.
While Nigerians are struggling over which of the narratives sounds more plausible or credible in the context of the events that took place within the 56 days in captivity, the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde has had reasons to constitute a judicial panel of inquiry to properly unravel the different dimensions of the absurd theater of our time. One of the accounts by those released to the effect that on the day of their release, they had been let go by the leader of the gang after he received a phone call and laughed to the news transmitted to him. The released captives were reported to have walked close to a kilometer in the forest before they encountered the military who were apparently waiting for their release and so couldn’t have been the ones who effected their release. That the Chief security officer of the State where the incident took place is today setting up a judicial panel of inquiry to unravel what truly transpired and how, says a lot about the divergencies of narratives , cacaphony of views and groundswell of distrust of narratives on the Oriire abductions.
President Tinubu had boasted that his recent order to expand the Army from eight to 12 divisions was a direct operational response to the worsening security crisis, aimed at shortening response times and giving security forces the numerical and geographic reach needed to defeat terrorism and banditry. The President urged communities to strengthen local intelligence and thanked the armed forces for their role in the rescue. He called on State Governors to improve on the road network in their States instead of concentrating on flyovers that do not have direct impact on the living standard of the people.
The Oriire attack on 15 May 2026, saw roughly 39 pupils and seven teachers taken hostage; a teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was killed. The rescue, concluded on 10 July, led to eight arrests and several neutralisations, the Presidency said.
The President has maintained that there was no deal between the Federal Government and the terrorists.
His words: ‘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.
‘I think we succeeded with your support and prayers. I agree that we should commend the men and women of the armed forces for their excellent performance’.
It indeed throws back as a worrisome scenario where governments pay ransom to terrorists and lie to citizens. There’s no way the nation’s conventional economy can perform at an optimum when Kidnapping has become a thriving economy on its own. Recent studies show that the Kidnap industry across the country has become the second highest employer of labour with a disturbing value chain that leaves so much of a gloomy prospect.
The bizarre dimension of Nigeria’s mass abduction saga is that it has made children attractive soft targets and education a prime casualty. As part of the abysmal failure in governance Nigeria as the fourth most terrorized nation of the world through payment of ransom and reward for ‘repentant terrorists ‘ is insentivicing criminality and impunity.
The puzzling paradox gets more pulsating when you consider the views already expressed by the likes of Sheik Gumi to the effect that Government knows who the terrorists are and their operational locations.
The question then is, why can’t the government go after them proactively. Why wait for them to strike only to react in ways that suggest that crime and criminality are being treated with kids gloves. If we consider the state of our IDP camps, the number of serving and retired military officers who have been slaughtered by terrorists, it would appear that the government of the day does not place value on the lives of citizens. As the nation continues to bleed on all fronts, terrorism is being insentivised as governments and individuals continue to pay ransom. Investors continue to keep a safe distance even as ‘repentant’ terrorists are celebrated and reintegrated into the nation’s mainstream military.
In a move not entirely surprising to many, the Oyo State Government last week constituted a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the abduction of students and teachers at Esinele and Yawota communities in Oriire Local Government Area on 15 May 2026.
The panel is expected to unravel the circumstances surrounding the abduction and make appropriate recommendations.
Governor Seyi Makinde, during his statewide broadcast following the release of the abducted students and teachers, had promised to establish an independent inquiry into the incident and specifically called on the United Nations to wade in and investigate the kidnapping episode that lasted 56 days.
The setting up of the judicial commission of inquiry demonstrates the government’s commitment to uncovering the facts behind the incident and strengthening measures to prevent a recurrence.
It has indeed become clear that Tinubu and Makinde are not singing from the same hymnary on the 56 days Oriire tragic theater. Political differences are expected to be set aside when safety of lives of citizens are threatened. Government should show cause on which of the narratives the citizens are to believe. Nigeria should not turn insecurity into a thriving industry and key employer of labour. The price is too costly to be paid both for the now and the future.
