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Abductors of Oyo teachers panicking, freedom coming for victims soon!
Freedom may be coming the way of the 39 schoolchildren and seven teachers abducted from Ahoro-Esinle, Yawota and Alawusa communities in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State on May 15, based on the signals coming from security operatives in the state.
Operatives of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies are said to be putting everything into the new move to free them from their captives, who had already beheaded one of the teachers.
Signals coming from the combined efforts, indicate that a security cordon has been thrown around the entire area, sealing all possible escape routes to particularly the National Park where the victims are reportedly held.
Outside cordoning off the entire vicinity where the abducted pupils and teachers are believed to be held, the terrorists believed to be in panic mood, have reportedly dropped one of their major demands – the release of some of their detained.
They are said to have now concentrated on asking for ransom to be paid to secure their victims, while also retaining the demand for the provision of two Hilux vehicles, and the implementation of Sharia-related laws.
They had earlier reportedly asked for the release of Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a or Abbas Mukhtar, and his deputy, Abubakar Abba, alias Isah Adam or Mahmud Al-Nigeri, both identified as senior members of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimeena Fi Biladis Sudan (Ansaru), a breakaway faction of Boko Haram, both of whom were arrested by DSS operatives, last year.
Vanguard, quoted multiples sources, as revealing that the leader of the kidnapping gang is an indigene of Oriire Local Government Area who had lived among residents before allegedly becoming radicalised by the Ansaru terrorist group and embracing extremist ideology.
It was also revealed that the affected communities lie close to Nigeria’s border corridor leading towards Niger Republic and the Kainji axis, an area known for its challenging terrain and no communication networks.
Quoting the same sources, who disclosed that intelligence reports had previously uncovered plans by terrorists to attack schools in the area, prompting preventive measures, including the temporary closure of some schools, the report added that sustained military offensives against terrorist groups across the country had forced many insurgents to abandon their traditional strongholds and resort to attacking vulnerable civilian targets.
In recent months, security agencies have reportedly recorded significant successes against members of Ansaru, Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, aided by intelligence provided by the DSS.
Sources said no fewer than 168 high-profile terrorist commanders had been neutralised during recent operations, while scores of others had been arrested. Many insurgents are also believed to have fled into neighbouring countries in search of refuge.
A senior security officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed confidence that the war against terrorism would ultimately be won.
The source said: “The war against terrorism will be won. We will not relent in the ongoing offensive until these criminals are either eliminated or forced out of the country. President Bola Tinubu recently issued a strong warning to them. The signs of victory are already becoming evident.”
Nothing outside the immediate resignation of his office will mitigate the havoc President Bola Tinubu, has caused Nigeria, Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), in the 2027 presidential election, said on Monday.
Obi, former Governor of Anambra State and candidate of the Labour Party (LP), in the 2023 polls hours after Kier Starmer, British Prime Minister announced he would be quitting office, urged Tinubu to follow the footstep, having performed more woefully than his UK counterpart.
Writing in his official X platform, the former governor wrote, lamented that the President had failed to improve the standard of living of the citizens, arguing that leaders who failed to listen to the heartbeat and voices of their citizens, had lost the right to remain in position.
Hear him: “This morning, I listened to the British Prime Minister’s speech announcing his planned resignation in July. As a keen observer of global politics, my primary interest lies in examining what successful nations do right and the structural factors that cause others to lag or struggle with governance and development.
“The Prime Minister’s planned resignation comes amid mounting public frustration over a stagnant economy, a worsening cost-of-living crisis, and a perceived failure to honour key campaign pledges.
“Looking inward in our dear country, we can recall our own situation. Before 2015, our President on several occasions championed the call for the then President Goodluck Jonathan to resign over economic hardship and insecurity affecting Nigerians.
“During the Chibok school kidnapping incident, he demanded the immediate resignation of President Jonathan, arguing that the government had failed in its most fundamental duty of protecting lives.
“During the 2023 election campaign, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made several promises, including improved electricity supply. He also challenged the electorate not to vote for him for a second term if he failed to deliver on those commitments—particularly in providing stable power, fighting corruption, and improving the welfare of Nigerians.
“At present, however, these conditions have worsened. Electricity supply remains unreliable, insecurity has intensified in many areas, including kidnappings, and economic hardship has deepened rather than eased. Similar concerns are reflected across other critical sectors such as security, infrastructure, transportation, and anti-corruption efforts, all of which have regressed. We are in the worst possible condition.
“I, therefore, join Nigerians of goodwill in calling for the resignation of the President over monumental failure in governance. Such a gesture would help enthrone a political culture rooted in accountability and responsibility, rather than further entrenching impunity. It would also send a powerful message that public office is a sacred trust, not an entitlement, and help build a society in which future leaders understand that failure carries consequences. Only by ending the culture of impunity can we secure a better future for the society our children will inherit in a New Nigeria that is possible.”
“Generally, it was a very bad day. At my polling booth, where I voted, there was massive rigging and the massive sale of votes, and it happened everywhere in the state,” were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), captured Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State and its outcome.
Dare Abejide, candidate of the party in the exercise, said hours after Biodun Oyebanji, the incumbent, who ran on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Abejide, a guest on Sunday Politics, a public affairs programme on Channels Television told his host, on Sunday: “It merely shows that you don’t need to campaign anymore; all you need to do is keep your money for election day and buy votes. The government of the day has weaponised poverty, and that makes it so easy for them to buy votes. So, let’s get it clear.”
Faulting the process, Abejide added: “First, the election was a very bad one. Yesterday was a very bad day for democracy in the state. It was a day when democracy took flight from Ekiti State,” the two-time Secretary to the Government of Ekiti State said on the current affairs show.
“It was a day when the polling units, particularly my polling booth, became a political marketplace where votes were canvassed for, sold, and bought by politicians. It was a day the security agents abandoned their duties and took sides with the oppressor. It was a day when hungry people went and took money from the oppressors in exchange for their rights.
“Generally, it was a very bad day. At my polling booth, where I voted, there was massive rigging and the massive sale of votes, and it happened everywhere in the state. It merely shows that you don’t need to campaign anymore; all you need to do is keep your money for election day and buy votes. The government of the day has weaponised poverty, and that makes it so easy for them to buy votes. So, let’s get it clear.”
In the result released by INEC, Oyebanji, polled 319,224 votes to beat other contenders to beat Oluwole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to a second place with 40,543 votes, while Abejide scored 12,872 votes after the figures emanating from the 16 local government areas of the state were tallied.
Abejide, who accused the ruling APC of inducing voters with money and intimidating the opposition, told his host: “It was like a battleground. I suspect it was something that was simply fed into the computers. The options are many for me. One of them is to consult with my party members. We are still collecting results from all the polling units. We will analyse the results and take appropriate action.”
Except Nigerians find a way to arrest the practice of outright buying of the votes of electorates, nothing else will change the parlous state of affairs in Nigeria, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has warned.
Reacting against the backdrop of the outcome of last Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State, Peter Obafemi, who captured the party’s total disenchantment, lamented that a situation in which security operatives who were supposed to arrest offenders were now helping them to commit the crime, left Nigeria no hope in electing credible leaders to change the situation.
Accusing the electoral officials of complicity in the crime, Obafemi, a guest on Sunday Politics, a current affairs programme on Channels Television, told his host that he personally witnessed policemen aiding those buying the votes of the people.
Hear him: “I think it was full of intimidation. Well, I will put it like this: in my own polling unit, I went to cast my vote; coming out, I was shocked. I saw someone with bagloads of money. The culprit is a member of one of these major parties and is being protected by the police.
“I am not alleging. I saw it in my own polling unit. The police and the INEC were very compromised in the conduct of the election. INEC must look into ways that they can help Nigerians for this general election [2027] that is coming up: how they can abort this act of vote-buying.”
Also stressing on other electoral malfeasances, Obafemi, who scored 179 votes in the poll, also talked about general intimidation in the lead-up to the exercise, stating how some of his campaign banners were pulled down.
INEC early Sunday declared Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the exercise, which was held in 16 local government areas of the South-West state.
He scored 319,224 votes to beat his opponents Oluwole Oluyede, or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who got 40,543 votes, while Dare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) polled 12,872 votes to come third.
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