By Ayodele Oni
Ongoing efforts to free abducted Oriire school children and their teachers in Oyo state have continued to record casualties.
Governor Seyi Makinde has announced that a lieutenant of the Nigerian Army was recently killed in the ongoing efforts to rescue the kidnapped Oriire school children and teachers.
He made the disclosure while addressing protesters led by activist and social media influencer Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), in Ibadan .
On Friday, May 15, gunmen suspected to be members of a Boko Haram faction attacked three schools in Oriire Local Government Area (LGA), abducting 39 pupils and seven teachers, including the principal of one of the affected schools.
At the time, a joint rescue operation by soldiers, police and local vigilantes was disrupted after they encountered improvised explosive devices planted by the attackers, leaving several wounded.
Those injured received treatment.
Days later, one of the abducted teachers, Michael Oyedokun, was killed in captivity.
The incident has attracted widespread outrage on social media and triggered protests demanding the release of the victims.
Hundreds of protesters led by VDM had marched through major roads in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, before converging on the Government House.
Addressing the demonstrators, Makinde said security agencies are conducting a delicate operation aimed at securing the victims’ release without casualties.
He also assured concerned Nigerians that the Oriire abduction will not become another Chibok scenario.
The 2027 presidential hopeful disclosed that a Nigerian army lieutenant was killed during ongoing operations to rescue the abducted schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo state.
He, however, did not disclose details of the operation that resulted in the death of the army officer.
The governor stated that “First, let me make it very, very clear: Oyo state is not Chibok, and it will not be Chibok.
“We have lost men, even soldiers, officers. I can confirm to you that a lieutenant in the Nigerian army was killed a few days ago.
“So if you ask me, if you ask me, can I sacrifice myself for those children to come out, I will do it. I have lived a good life. I’m almost 60. It doesn’t matter. My own father died at 76.
“What we want to do is. This is Oyo state. They know that this is not Chibok, and our children will never be in the same situation as the Chibok children.
“We’re doing everything possible, including what you’ve suggested. But if there’s potential for needless loss of lives…We’ve lost a teacher already.
“If we can avoid losing more, we will avoid losing more. But if we get to the point that certain people have to be sacrificed, including myself, we will do it.”
Speaking during a protest aimed at pressuring authorities to secure the release of the abducted pupils and teachers, VDM urged Governor Makinde not to be intimidated by the kidnappers, insisting that criminals thrive when fear takes hold.
He warned that if terrorists are allowed to operate unchecked, they could eventually impose levies on farmers in Oyo state as a condition for accessing their own farmlands.
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