By Dapo Akinrefon
FRESH details have emerged on the intelligence-led operation that culminated in the successful rescue of schoolchildren and teachers abducted from Ahoro-Esinle, Yawota and Alawusa communities in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, with security sources disclosing that the arrest of family members of the kidnappers proved to be a decisive turning point.
39 schoolchildren and seven teachers were abducted by terrorists on May 15, 2026.
While one of the teachers was killed in captivity, the remaining victims were rescued on July 10 during a coordinated operation involving the military and the Department of State Services, DSS.
According to security sources, after weeks of sustained intelligence gathering and military pressure, operatives of the DSS tracked down and arrested several wives and children of the kidnappers in different communities and cities across the country.
The operation, sources said, was coordinated by a senior DSS official after security forces had already sealed off the terrorists’ escape routes and surrounded their hideout inside the National Park forest.
‘’The family members were subsequently taken to Abuja, where the wives were interrogated in accordance with investigative procedures,’’ the sources said.
Terrorists’ proposed exchange rejected
Multiple security sources further disclosed that video recordings of the interrogations were somehow leaked to the kidnappers, a development that reportedly unsettled them and altered the course of negotiations.
“The kidnappers suddenly became more responsive. They abandoned their earlier hardline position and started making frequent contact instead of disappearing after making demands,” one source said.
According to the sources, the terrorists, thereafter, proposed releasing the abducted schoolchildren and teachers in exchange for the freedom of their wives and guarantees of safe passage.
Security agencies, however, rejected the proposal, insisting that the captives must first be released and that the kidnappers should surrender or face arrest or possible elimination during military operations.
Investigators believe the arrest of the terrorists’ family members reduced the likelihood that the abductors would harm the hostages, fearing possible consequences for their own relatives.
It was further gathered that just as contacts continued, the joint rescue force steadily tightened the cordon around the terrorists’ hideout.
Final order on rescue mission
A source familiar with the operation disclosed that the final order to storm the camp was issued on Thursday night after fresh intelligence reportedly confirmed that the abducted schoolchildren and teachers were no longer being used as human shields.
