Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has declared that his administration will not surrender to terror following the abduction of students and teachers in the Oriire Local Government Area of the state.
Makinde, who spoke to journalists in Ibadan on Monday, maintained that the state would not bow to intimidation.
“We will not give in to terror. We will do everything possible to ensure that our children and their teachers are returned safely,” he stated.
He said the state government remained committed to exploring every lawful means to secure the release of the abducted students and teachers.
“So, whatever it is they demand, we are ready to listen to them and address the ones we can address as a state government. But the children and their teachers must be released immediately,” he said.
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The governor spoke after a high-level security review meeting with service commanders and security advisers over Friday’s attack at Ahoro Esinle Community in the Oriire Local Government Area.
He described the situation as “fluid and difficult”, noting that security agencies were conducting coordinated operations to rescue the victims.
The governor urged residents to support security efforts by providing timely and credible information.
“If you see something strange, say something, and expect us to do something,” he said.
A Rallying Call
Reflecting on the country’s worsening security situation, the governor lamented what he described as a decline in communal responsibility.
“We once had a country where we were each other’s brother’s keeper. How did we descend to this point? These are not foreign people; it is us against ourselves,” he said, referencing the revered novelist Chinua Achebe.
He also appealed to the media and the public to report developments responsibly.
“This is not something sensational. It involves lives,” Makinde said.
Surveillance Aircraft
The governor disclosed that the state’s surveillance aircraft had arrived in Nigeria and was at the Nigerian Air Force hangar in Lagos for reassembly and installation.
According to him, the aircraft is expected to become operational by the end of June and will enhance monitoring along the Oyo-Kwara border and the international boundary between Oyo State and the Republic of Benin.
Makinde noted that the surveillance project was initiated before the current abduction as part of broader efforts to strengthen the state’s security architecture.
Earlier on Monday, teachers in Ogbomoso staged a peaceful protest over the abduction, which also claimed the life of one teacher, demanding improved security in schools and the immediate release of those still in captivity.
