‘Rescue Or Release?’ — Atiku’s Camp Questions Oyo Teacher’s Shocking Account
The media camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has officially questioned the federal government's conflicting narratives regarding how 44 school pupils and their teachers, who were abducted in Oriire, Oyo State, ultimately regained their freedom. The opposition's scrutiny intensified following public statements made by one of the affected educators, which directly contradicted the established government account. This disconnect has sparked a fresh debate over transparency and the accuracy of official state briefings concerning critical national security operations.
In a social media statement released on Saturday, Atiku’s Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, openly challenged the presidency’s categorization of the victims' freedom as a coordinated tactical rescue. Ibe raised these critical objections after Mr. Olatunde Zacchaeus, one of the freed teachers, gave a live radio interview explaining that they were actually released voluntarily by their terrorist captors. The stark contrast between a military rescue and a strategic release by insurgents has prompted the former Vice President's team to demand total honesty from state officials.
This controversy stems back to July 10, when the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, triumphantly announced to the public that security forces had successfully rescued the 44 Oriire schoolchildren and teachers. According to the presidency's initial briefing, the victims were safely liberated by Nigerian security agencies after spending 56 grueling days in captivity. The emerging counter-narrative from the victims themselves has now left the public questioning the authenticity of the government's security updates.
The presidency said eight kidnappers were arrested and others neutralised during the operation, and that there was “no quid pro quo” in the rescue.
However, Zacchaeus, a teacher who spent 56 days in captivity with 43 other victims, told Info FM that they were released by the abductors.
The video of his remarks was shared by Oyo Matters on Thursday.
In his post, Ibe asked: “Is it that Zacchaeus, as a teacher, does not know the difference between to release and rescue, or is he an ‘agent’ of the opposition, or what?”
He described the teacher’s claim as being “in stark contradiction to what the Tinubu-led APC administration told the nation.”
Paul Ibe further connected the teacher's revelation to broader, systemic concerns regarding the financing of domestic terrorism, stating that the situation brings the issue of state-sponsored ransom payments to bandits directly to the forefront. He noted that the conflicting accounts give credence to growing conspiracy theories suggesting that some prominent mass abductions may actually be staged or state-sponsored. According to Ibe, these discrepancies undermine public trust in national security operations and mask the true nature of Nigeria's kidnapping crisis.
In light of these irregularities, Atiku's media adviser strongly threw his weight behind Governor Seyi Makinde’s call for a comprehensive, independent probe. Ibe questioned whether this new revelation explains why the Oyo State Governor previously demanded a United Nations-led international investigation into the matter. He asserted that an international inquiry is urgently needed to establish the absolute truth of what transpired not only in Oriire, Oyo State, but also in Mussa village within the Askira/Uba local government area of Borno State, and other regions where mass abductions have become dangerously commonplace.
Beyond the immediate crisis in Oyo State, Ibe demanded an immediate transparency update from federal authorities regarding other unresolved kidnappings across the country. Specifically, he pressed the government for progress reports on the strategic plans currently in place for the rescue or release of the schoolchildren who were previously abducted in Borno State. He argued that the families of victims deserve clear, unembellished facts rather than contradictory political narratives from security agencies.
The background of the incident traces back to May 15, when heavily armed gunmen launched coordinated attacks on three schools in the Oriire Local Government Area, abducting 46 pupils, teachers, and a toddler, with two teachers tragically killed during their 56-day ordeal in captivity. While security forces claimed the victims were liberated on July 10 through an intelligence-led joint operation involving the Army, Police, and DSS, the Oyo State Government maintained it achieved victory through principled leadership without paying any ransom. Amidst the ongoing war of words, the Federal Government has since arraigned three suspects in court in connection with the mass abduction.