By Danladi Ahmed
The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has described the successful rescue of 44 students and teachers kidnapped in Oriire, Oyo State after nearly two months in captivity as a further affirmation of an improved and better inter-agency synergy and coordination approach under the President Bola Tinubu administration.
In a statement signed by its Chairman Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, the group pointed out that information from the successful security operation showed that it was intelligence-driven, with operatives of various security agencies playing complementary roles thereby proving the efficacy of inter-agency synergy, a central focus of the revamped national security architecture of the President Bola Tinubu administration.
According to TMSG, it showed the unwavering commitment of the administration to make the country more secure.
The statement read in full, “Like many Nigerians, we are elated that the hostage standoff that gripped the nation for nearly two months in the aftermath of the abduction of 44 pupils and students from Oriire local government in Oyo state, has finally ended.
“It is a culmination of the speedy response of President Bola Tinubu who, within a few hours of the incident, gave a marching order to the security forces to ensure the release of the victims while condemning the killing of one of the abducted teachers by the terrorists.
“We dare say that the President’s immediate reaction was the trigger for security operatives to pin the terrorists within the Old Oyo National Park which prevented them from moving the abducted children and teachers to adjoining forests as what happened with the 2014 Chibok girls abduction where 91 of the abducted girls are still missing.
“It has since emerged that a combined team of special forces personnel from the Army, Navy and the Air Force as well as operatives from the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Police had for over one month engaged in a series of operations coordinated by the Office of National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
“This was at a time opposition elements had been whipping up sentiments against the Tinubu administration on what they tagged inactivity and non-response, even while the President kept giving his word on the rescue of all the abducted individuals.
“It is against this backdrop that we commend the President for again keeping his promise, and the security agencies for working in close cooperation especially as many Nigerians now know that in the course of the rescue operation, many arrests were made in Oyo State and other locations across the country.
“For us, the fact that the Army later revealed that security agencies were able to identify the terrorists kingpins behind the kidnap, and even dismantled their network before conducting the actual rescue, showed that the agencies are up to the task of stemming the tide of insecurity in the country.
“It is also instructive that the Tinubu administration insisted on not releasing the two detained leaders of the terrorists group, Ansaru, who the abductors want released in exchange for the abducted pupils and their teachers.
“We are convinced that with the high level of active inter-agency synergy and collaboration that ended the hostage crisis in Oyo State, the armed forces have what it takes to take the battle to the terrorists and rescue hostages in similar situations as they have been doing in some parts of Northern Nigeria.”
The group urged Nigerians to ignore individuals seeking to play politics with security, saying that in the coming months, their continued trust in the capacity of the Tinubu administration and the military to make the country safer is the best approach to ending terrorism, kidnapping and other forms of criminality in the country.