Hunters assisting security operatives in the search for abducted pupils, students and teachers in Oyo State have narrated how they narrowly escaped death during a fierce gun battle with heavily armed kidnappers inside a forest in Oriire Local Government Area.…....
The hunters said Nigerian soldiers involved in the operation told them the attackers were carrying sophisticated weapons similar to those used by Boko Haram terrorists.
The revelation comes amid ongoing efforts to rescue dozens of abducted pupils and teachers kidnapped during attacks on schools and communities in Oyo State.
In a video seen by SaharaReporters on Sunday evening, some of the local hunters who joined the rescue mission recounted how the operation suddenly turned into an intense exchange of gunfire after the kidnappers opened fire on security operatives and local vigilantes.
Speaking in Yoruba, one of the hunters said they were caught off guard by the sudden attack shortly after entering the forest.
“Immediately after we finished drinking water and took a few steps, we started hearing gunshots. The terrorists were shooting at us,” the hunter said.
“We abandoned our motorcycles and ran for our lives because the attack came unexpectedly.”
According to him, soldiers and local security personnel later regrouped and engaged the attackers in what he described as a “real gun battle.”
“But later the soldiers and local security personnel faced them and they started a real gun battle,” he added.
“These terrorists are armed with sophisticated weapons. The soldiers I carried on the back of my motorcycle while we were returning also confirmed this to me,” he said.
The hunter further claimed that one of the soldiers expressed shock over the calibre of weapons allegedly in the possession of the kidnappers.
“He said the weapons in the hands of these terrorists were mostly anti-aircraft (AA) guns, and the soldier was shocked at how they were able to obtain such weapons,” he said.
Another hunter who participated in the operation said the soldiers told them the attackers appeared far more dangerous than the armed gangs usually encountered in the area.
“The soldiers told us that these are not the regular bandits we normally encounter,” the hunter said.
“These bandits cannot have the kind of weapons they displayed today. They fired many shots, and we were fortunate to come out alive.”
