Oriire Abduction: Oyo Fine-Tunes Security Strategy, Imposes Curfew On 10 LGAS Around National Park
By. Akanni Toba
As the Oyo State Government continues to fine-tune strategies to rescue some of its citizens in the clutches of bandits, the pacesetter state has declared the imposition of a curfew in 10 local government areas, starting from Wednesday.
The State Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, in a statement on Tuesday, listed the affected LGAs as Oriire (headquarters: Ikoyi-Ile), Orelope (headquarters: Igboho), Irepo (headquarters: Kisi), Saki West (headquarters: Saki), Saki East (headquarters: Ago-Amodu), Atisbo (headquarters: Tede/Ago-Are), and Itesiwaju (headquarters: Otu).
Others are Iseyin (headquarters: Iseyin), Olorunsogo (headquarters: Igbeti), and Atiba (headquarters: Offa-Meta, Oyo).
According to the statement, the curfew would be in force for 48 hours starting Wednesday, “in the first instance.”
“The curfew is part of the state’s ongoing efforts to tackle kidnapping and other security challenges in communities located around the Old Oyo National Park,” the statement added.
The state urged residents of the affected local government areas to comply fully with the directive, as security agencies intensify operations to restore peace and ensure the safety of lives and property across the affected communities.
Peoplestemplate observed that the curfew which is to be in force for four solid hours (4am to 8am) while it lasts affects local government areas surrounding the Old Oyo National Park, where the victims of the May 15 attack on three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of the state are said to be held hostage.
A total of 46 people, comprising 39 schoolchildren and seven teachers, are reported to have been abducted in the attack.
Recall that the kidnap victims are teachers and students of Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School; and L.A. Primary School, Esiele, all three schools fall under Oriire Local Government Area of the state.
The incident has claimed two casualties.
A teacher, Joel Adesiyan, was killed on the day of the attack, while one of the hostages, a Mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded in captivity, as shown in a viral video released by the captors.
As part of measures to rescue the hostages, the Chief of Defence Staff, Olufemi Oluyede, announced the deployment of special forces, drones, and spy aircraft to Oyo State, while President Bola Tinubu authorised the deployment of 1,000 forest guards to assist state security and hunters.
There are conflicting reports about the exact location of the abductees with reports emanating from certain quarters claiming they have been transported to Kaduna.
The police have since debunked the report stressing that the victims are still within the territory of Oyo State.
According to reports military troops have manned all exit routes into the Old Oyo National Park, which spans many local government areas.
It can be deduced from this report that both the abductors and the abductees are trapped on the vast mass of land.
