By Abdu Rafiu

It was so elating, so touching seeing and listening to Major-General Chinedu Nnebeife hand over the freed Oriire schoolchildren and their teachers, victims of kidnapping, to the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde. It was at a gathering comprising some senior officers from different arms of our security forces and senior state government functionaries.

It was even more exceedingly delightful to note in his briefing on the operation he described as complex that he, as the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 2 Division, Nigerian Army Headquarters, Ibadan, personally led the rescue operation and was there in the forest for the 56 days the efforts lasted. He did not send his second-in-command, or even a subordinate officer of lesser rank. He took the operations seriously. A total of 44 children were involved with nine of their teachers, including a principal of one of the three schools the kidnappers raided.

The raid was carried out by the gunmen on May 15. The ordeal ended last Friday evening, July 10, 2026. As was later to be revealed, a one-year-and-three-month-old child was among those carted away. Also among the others there were those whose ages range from two, five and six-year-olds! Such cruelty! Such callousness!! These were all exposed to rains and sun and the elements in the inclement weather, cold in particular that characterises the rainy season, more so in a thick forest. Added to these was the galling horror as painted by Mrs. Alamu, the Principal: The children were tied in the mouth with clothes to stop them from making noises—something that is natural with children, even in the condition they found themselves; hide and seek especially in a forest with ample swinging facility, called pandoro, all of which make children to be children and keep them happy. The abductors feared the attendant noises of the kids, some loud, would reveal their location to the security forces on their trail! They beat the children and sealed their lips. The male captives were blindfolded, had their hands tied and legs chained! They moved from one area of the forest to another walking distances for hours. The toddlers were carried.

General Nnebeife gave a moving account of how when he received the signal about the abduction during an event which was being conducted in the barracks, he rose to the challenge. He immediately assembled his men; they jumped into vehicles and raced at break-neck speed, headed for Ogbomoso-Oriire axis in the hope they would intercept the abductors, but the kidnappers had gone deep into the National Park Forest with their victims. The principal’s car used in carrying some of the children was abandoned by the abductors.

They organised a search team which also comprised the local vigilantes, hunters and Amotekun. A tactical Air Force team joined from Kainji.

Why did the rescue team elect ground operation instead of air operation? General Nnebeife said it was because the aircraft and drones would not have been able to spot the camps of the kidnappers. So thick was the forest that its shade was such that it was difficult to even see the rays of sunlight. He spoke glowingly about the support he received from his bosses. He said it was overall the operation of the Chief of Army Staff. National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu sent in National Counter-Terrorism Unit and assured him that should he at any time need anything he was on standby; the General should not hesitate to let him know. He spoke also proudly and reassuringly about support from the Chief of Defence Staff, from Defence Headquarters special forces; the Nigeria Police; the Department of State Security (DSS); the Nigeria Air Force team from Kainji; troops from Operation Savannah Shield from Kwara that did a blocking from the Northern side of Oyo State coming from Ilorin. He lost some of his men. A fallen officer of lieutenant rank was being buried in his home state of Adamawa when the children were being released.

Another was shot and wounded gravely. Some local vigilantes, Amotekun and hunters were on the rescue mission. Some of them along with some Amotekun crack men were lost to the operation as well. Two of the teachers were gruesomely killed, one immediately they reached the forest!

It was confounding to hear and revealed how far the link of the kidnappers to other parts of the country stretched—to members of their team; members of their families in Adamawa, Kano, Sokoto, Katsins, Zamfara, Oyo and in different parts of the country. Nnebeife’s men looked for them and got them. That put pressure on the terrorists.

In the General’s words: “During the last phase of the operation, we blocked their major logistics hub in Ashamu, and it finally made them to willingly release the schoolchildren and teachers unconditionally, but we insisted that it was not only about releasing the children but seeing to end of the terrorists operating in the Region.”

Nnebeife also spoke with such delight about the encouragement and support he received from the President, Bola Tinubu whom he said called him every day. According to him, the Governor, Seyi Makinde, did the same, but kept so dignifyingly quiet about it that his efforts were hardly known and appreciated. He came under a barrage of criticisms. The Press said he was more pre-occupied with politics than the rescue of the school children.

The state commissioner of police regularly sent food to the troops in the forest, indeed every day! Nnebeife said the police commissioner provided critical support throughout the rescue mission. He helped to arrest a suspect following an Intelligence report from the military. Nnebeife said a helicopter was dispatched to pick the fellow and fly him into the forest. The valuable information he provided enabled the forces to locate the kidnappers’ camps in the jungle.

The skills, the professionalism, the commitment, the application and drive so self-evident in cooperation, collaboration and pronged co-ordination of our security forces brought to bear on the rescue efforts at the Old Oyo National Park were impressive. What a sigh of relief the nation heaved and the confidence our security forces have given to Nigerians and the nation anew in the face of seeming intractable reign of terror by bandits, kidnappers and terrorists in several parts of the country. We must salute their courage and gallantry. The daringness of the rescue mission can never be forgotten and cannot be in vain, going by the Laws of Nature.

There are other areas of our beleaguered nation in need of attention. The schoolchildren abducted in Borno about the same day undoubtedly require such operation. There are still 86 Chibok girls the nation owes undreamt-of miracle of rescue and freedom. They are those that remain out of more than 300 of the Chibok school girls seized from their boarding school and driven into captivity since 2014. The case of school girl, Leah Sharibu from Dapchi in Yobe State remains a national embarrassment. She has been the lone student from among her set still in captivity since 2018. She was about 15 at the time and 23 this year.

The Oyo National Park that could easily pass for a tourist centre for its historical connection to rekindle memories and the naturalness of its tall and huge trees and foliage of leaves to calm nerves and which enthrals the minds for reflection, for poetic contemplation and to bow the spirit in worship; where animals wander, reptiles crawl and birds fly freely and unmolested; nature beings manifestly at work providing fresh air and regulating climate; with beauty of the forest seen from afar, an enchanting spectacle for Nature enthusiasts, has been violated. Its sanctity has been dragged down. It is not for nothing that the Park has for centuries been called Igbo-Oba, the Royal King’s Forest watched over by Awogbo, forest guards. It is abutted by three major local government headquarters, Igboho, (Orelope); Kishi, (Irepo); and Igbeti, (Olorunsogo) and villages around them.

We can’t but give all the kudos to our gallant and daring security forces for their sacrifice.We remember the fallen heroes in the course of the rescue mission. Their service cannot be lost in all annals and cannot go in vain.The President and the Governor deserve fulsome laudatory salutation for their alertness and wakefulness, maintaining unceasing communication flow directly with the GOC Nnebeife. Nnebeife and his team drawn from all the security services are, indeed, our national heroes at this moment.