President Bola Tinubu on Thursday told a delegation of Oyo State traditional rulers in Abuja that his government refused to negotiate with or pay ransom to the militants who kidnapped schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire last May.
He said the abductors demanded both money and the release of jailed members of their gang, demands that were flatly rejected, and described the military-led rescue that freed the victims after 56 days as intelligence-driven and successful without ransom.
Tinubu said his recent order to expand the Army from eight to 12 divisions was a direct operational response to the crisis, aimed at shortening response times and giving security forces the numerical and geographic reach needed to defeat terrorism and banditry. He also announced plans to retrain and re-equip forest guards as frontline security assets and pushed for state police with safeguards against abuse.
Speaking after receiving the Olubadan of Ibadanland Oba Rashidi Ladoja and other Oyo chiefs, the President urged communities to strengthen local intelligence, thanked the armed forces for their role in the rescue, and called on state governments to invest federal allocations in road infrastructure to improve access for security agencies. The Oriire attack on May 15, 2026, saw roughly 39 pupils and seven teachers taken hostage; a teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was killed. The rescue, concluded on July 10, led to eight arrests and several neutralisations, the Presidency said.
