Fresh Concern As Lawmaker Reveals Challenges In Tracking Oyo School Abductors

The Senator representing Oyo North Senatorial District, Abdulfatai Buhari, has said that the 47 pupils abducted by armed men in Oyo State are being used as human shields by their captors.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Buhari cautioned that any direct military assault on the kidnappers’ hideout could put the lives of the abducted schoolchildren at serious risk.

Gunmen had earlier stormed schools in Ogbomoso and Oriire Local Government Areas, abducting pupils and heightening fear across Oyo State, alongside growing concerns about the spread of banditry into parts of the South-West.

Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Thursday night, the senator explained that the nature of the operation required extreme caution, as the abductors were not stationed in a fixed location.

He said the children were taken into a dense forest and positioned around the armed men, making any rescue attempt highly dangerous.

According to him, the movement and tactics of the kidnappers have made the rescue operation significantly more complex.

“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 added that the situation could not be treated as a standard military engagement, as the kidnappers were constantly relocating within the forest.

Forest Spanning Multiple States

Buhari further explained that tracking the criminals had been difficult due to the vast and dense forest terrain believed to be their hideout.

He noted that the forest corridor stretches across several states and connects to border communities near neighbouring countries.

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

“In most cases, these people move through the forest, which is very thick with no clear beginning or end. The challenge is that they don’t stay in one place; they keep moving, which makes tracking them very difficult.”

The senator also alleged that some of the armed men operating in the area may be foreigners moving through the forest network.

“If the attack is a conventional war, it would be different, but these are people coming from other countries and moving from one place to another,” he added.

Buhari disclosed that a Federal Government delegation had visited affected families, including relatives of a man killed during the attack, to offer condolences and reassurance.

He said the delegation also met families of the abducted pupils to console them and provide support.

“When the Federal Government delegation came, we visited all the families, including the one that lost a loved one,” he said.

“We tried to console them, and in some cases, they were even asking if we could recover the body of the deceased.”

Buhari stressed that security agencies must proceed carefully in order not to endanger the lives of the abducted children, adding that the situation demands a strategy focused on rescue and preservation of life.

The incident has continued to heighten tension in affected communities, with residents calling for stronger security measures and urgent efforts to secure the release of the abducted pupils.