Tinubu Pledges Safe Rescue for Kidnapped Oyo Schoolchildren as State Extends Tough Border Curfews

The federal government has issued a fresh directive to security forces to ensure that the students and teachers currently held captive by bandits in Oyo State are rescued completely unharmed.

The promise came directly from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the formal unveiling of the newly remodeled Premier Hotel in Ibadan. Speaking through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, the president assured the public that the state is actively pursuing all realistic intelligence avenues—including security partnerships with international allies—to bring a safe end to the traumatic abduction in Oriire Local Government Area.

As the presidency issued these safety assurances, the Oyo State Government matched the rhetoric with immediate field action. The state house announced a 24-hour extension of a strict curfew blanketed over 10 local government areas that border the dense forests of the Old Oyo National Park. The movement restrictions, which run daily from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m., will now remain in force until Saturday, June 27, effectively freezing transit in vulnerable rural corridors to cut off escape routes for criminal syndicates.

The emergency lockdown affects a massive stretch of the state’s boundary lines, including Oriire, Orelope, Irepo, Saki West, Saki East, Atisbo, Itesiwaju, Iseyin, Olorunsogo, and Atiba. Local administrators believe the curfew will give military personnel and tactical units the breathing room needed to map out rescue sweeps without civilian interference.

“Our administration is seriously addressing the upswing in banditry and kidnapping across the country,” the President’s address stated. “Every realistic measure is being taken to ensure that the victims are brought back without harm or avoidable loss of life. While we continue to invest heavily in expanding infrastructure and economic reforms, we must emphasize that sustainable growth can only thrive in an atmosphere of absolute peace. We urge traditional and faith-based institutions to remain vigilant and work hand-in-hand with law enforcement assets.”

Meanwhile, local security officials have turned their sights onto internal collaborators within the region. The Special Adviser on Security Matters to Governor Seyi Makinde, Abayomi Fagbenro Bibire, led a high-level stakeholder meeting in the Oke-Ogun zone to address reports that some individuals were providing cover, shelter, and logistical information to the kidnappers.

Visiting local cattle markets in Ado-Awaye and Kara, Bibire warned community leaders that the state is prepared to enforce Executive Orders 001 and 002 with full force, promising that anyone caught assisting criminal groups will be treated with the same severity as the bandits themselves.

With tactical air surveillance teams already hovering over the Oriire forest corridors and ground troops tightening their perimeter around the national park, the twin strategies of federal pressure and state-level lockdowns show a determined effort to crush the kidnapping wave. By refusing to compromise on the safety of the hostages, the government has sent a clear message to the criminal networks that the state will use every available asset to defend its classrooms and rural communities.