BREAKING: Lawmaker Reveals Why Finding Oyo School Kidnappers Is So Difficult

The senator representing Oyo North Senatorial District, Abdulfatai Buhari, has said the 47 pupils abducted by gunmen in Oyo State are being used as human shields by their abductors.

Buhari warned that a direct military attack on the abductors’ hideout could endanger the lives of the kidnapped schoolchildren.

Gunmen had abducted schoolchildren from schools in Ogbomoso and Oriire Local Government Areas of Oyo State, sparking fear among residents and renewed concern over the spread of banditry in parts of the South-West.

Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Thursday night, Buhari said the situation required caution because the abductors were not operating from a fixed location.

The senator said the gunmen took the children into a thick forest and placed them around themselves to prevent security forces from launching a direct attack.

According to him, the nature of the abduction and the movement of the armed men have made the rescue operation more complicated.

“The early part, they took the children to surround themselves and it was raining, so if you decide to attack, they will kill all the 47 children, they used them as human shields,” Buhari said.

“The abductors use these children to surround themselves, basically using them as human shields. It is not a conventional war.”

He explained that the situation could not be treated like a normal military confrontation because the abductors were constantly moving from one place to another.
Forest Stretches Across Several States

Buhari said tracking the abductors had been difficult because of the size and nature of the forest where they were believed to be hiding.

He noted that the forest stretches across several states and also links communities close to Nigeria’s borders with neighbouring countries.

“The forest moves along seven states, Oyo, Kwara, Niger, Kebbi, Sokoto, and we were sharing borders with Benin and Niger,” he said.

“In most cases all these people come into the forest and it’s very thick, no beginning no end. The sad aspect is that they don’t stay in one place, they will be moving, so tracking them becomes very difficult.”

The senator alleged that some of the armed men operating in the area were foreigners who move through the forest corridor.

“If the attack is a conventional war, it’s a different thing because these are people that came in from other country and move from one place to the other,” he added.

Buhari also disclosed that a Federal Government delegation visited families affected by the attack, including the family of a man who was killed during the incident.

He said the delegation met with the bereaved family and other relatives of the abducted pupils to offer support and reassurance.

“When the Federal government delegation came, we went to see all the families, including the one that was brutally murdered, the lady, we were able to console her,” the senator said.

“We appealed to her and she was begging even if we can get her the corpse of the husband, we don’t know if they buried him or threw it away.”

Buhari said the government and security agencies must handle the rescue operation carefully to avoid putting the abducted pupils at further risk.

He maintained that the use of the children as shields had made the operation delicate and called for a strategy that would prioritise the safety of the victims.

The abduction has heightened anxiety in Oyo communities, especially in the Ogbomoso zone, where residents have continued to call for a stronger security presence and urgent action to rescue the pupils.

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