\n\n
Northern leaders, community groups and families of kidnapping victims have called on the Federal Government to replicate the intelligence-led operation that secured the release of abducted pupils and teachers in Oyo State in other parts of the country, particularly Kaduna, Borno and Kwara, where many victims remain in captivity. They described the successful Oyo rescue as proof that coordinated intelligence gathering and multi-agency collaboration can produce results without yielding to kidnappers’ demands.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) welcomed the rescue of the Oyo victims but urged President Bola Tinubu to sustain the momentum by extending similar efforts nationwide. Public affairs analyst Abdulrasaq Olanrewaju also questioned why abductees from Woro in Kwara, who were kidnapped earlier, had yet to regain their freedom. In Borno, security expert Kareto called for the immediate deployment of the same intelligence-driven approach while urging stronger implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative and improved intelligence-sharing among federal, state and local security agencies.
The appeal comes after the successful rescue of the Oyo pupils and teachers following 56 days in captivity, an operation in which authorities said no ransom was paid and no concessions were made to the abductors. Northern leaders said the government’s determination in Oyo should now be matched with similar urgency in other states affected by terrorism and mass abductions, stressing that every Nigerian held in captivity deserves the same level of attention and rescue effort.
