Details have emerged of how Nigerian security forces secured the unconditional release of pupils and teachers abducted by suspected Ansaru terrorists from the old Oyo National Park forest, following a coordinated joint military operation that lasted almost two months.

The victims, whose exact number was not disclosed in the security report, were freed at about 6pm on Thursday, July 9, 2026, according to a statement detailing the operation. They have since been handed over to the Oyo State Government for medical assessment and psychosocial support ahead of reunification with their families.

The abduction

The pupils and their teachers were abducted in Oyo State on May 15, 2026, in an attack the statement attributed to the Ansaru terrorist group operating from the Oyo forest, which it described as the group’s principal sanctuary in the area.

The response

Following what the report described as a direct presidential directive to secure the victims’ safe return, the Chief of Defence Staff, working with the Service Chiefs and heads of other security agencies, constituted a Joint Inter-Agency Task Force (JIATF).

The task force reportedly comprised elite elements of the Nigerian Navy Special Boat Service, the 2 Division Garrison of the Nigerian Army, and a specialised tactical unit mobilised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), with the Nigerian Air Force, the Nigerian Police Force, the Department of State Services, the National Intelligence Agency, the Defence Intelligence Agency and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps providing support.

Overall coordination of the operation was entrusted to the General Officer Commanding 2 Division.

The operation

According to the security report, troops advanced into the forest along multiple axes over a three-week period, gradually constricting the terrorists’ movement and forcing them into a confined enclave.

The ground manoeuvre was said to be backed by sustained Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) support from ONSA assets, alongside close air support from the Air Force and the police.

The report claimed the operation led to the destruction of communication nodes and logistics caches used by the terrorists, and that all key landmarks within the operational area were eventually seized, degrading the group’s command structure without harm coming to the captives.

Security agencies also reportedly conducted parallel operations against the group’s support network, arresting alleged associates, informants and enablers in communities near the forest, as well as detaining family members of purported Ansaru operatives in other parts of the country. These measures, the report stated, triggered a wave of defections that saw most of the terrorists abandon their leader and the enclave.

The combined pressure from the military campaign, the disruption of the group’s logistics and communications, and the reported collapse of internal cohesion within the group culminated in the unconditional release of the children and teachers on July 8, according to sources, though the operation itself was said to have concluded on Thursday, July 9.

Senior military sources quoted in the report described the operation as an example of intelligence-driven joint action, saying the integration of combat and non-combat measures was decisive in ending the siege without harm to the captives.

Tinubu reacts

Confirming the release of the captives yesterday evening, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said President Bola Tinubu expressed profound joy at the successful rescue of the children and teachers

He said the President praised the heroic efforts of the security agencies, especially the military, the DSS and the police, for working round the clock in the last 56 days to secure the release of the abducted children and their teachers without any collateral damage and for arresting eight of the abductors and neutralising others.

President Tinubu regretted the anguish that the children and their teachers, as well as members of their families and the entire nation, have experienced since the sad occurrence.

For cooperating with the Federal Government in all rescue efforts, President Tinubu commended the Oyo State Government and charged it to ensure adequate security around schools across the state, said Onanuga.

“I am profoundly happy that our security forces successfully rescued the abducted pupils and teachers from Oriire, Ogbomoso in Oyo State today after a military, police and intelligence-driven operation that neutralised some of the terrorists that perpetrated the evil act and the arrest of eight of them.

“This successful military operation has ended the siege and standoff of over 50 days and has brought relief to the entire nation and the affected families in particular.

“On behalf of the country, I express my gratitude to the officers and men of our armed forces, the intelligence agencies and the police for the safe rescue of the children and their teachers.

“My government will get justice for these children and their teachers and for the family of Mr Oyedokun, who the terrorists gruesomely murdered.

“I must commend the government of Oyo State for working cooperatively with us in bringing this unfortunate incident to a successful end,” the President said.

President Tinubu has also directed that the emergency agencies work with the Oyo State Government to provide all necessary medical and relief support to the children and the teachers. (Pieced together from The Nation and Daily Trust)

See pictures of the operation below:

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