Nine people were killed during the operation to rescue victims abducted from three schools in Oyo State, the DSS Director-General, Tosin Ajayi, has disclosed.
The casualties comprised four civilians and five security personnel, with Ajayi saying the operation began after security forces received credible intelligence on the abduction.
“Immediately after the incident happened, based on credible intelligence, troops chased them immediately, and sadly, a vigilante and a policeman were killed. During the second raid, more were killed, making a total of nine fatalities, four civilians and five security personnel”, Ajayi said.
He described the operation as complex because one of the victims was a two-and-a-half-year-old child.
“It was a complex operation involving a two-and-a-half-year-old infant who could not run much if we invaded the place”, he said.
Ajayi also warned about misinformation circulated during the rescue, saying some videos showing injured children were unrelated to the incident.
“As expected, the rescue operation attracted a lot of social media disinformation. You have to sieve the information there”, he said.
The DSS chief said the group behind the abduction was an international terrorist organisation linked to Al-Qaeda, whose leaders had previously been arrested over alleged involvement in the Abuja-Kaduna train attack.
He urged the media to verify information before publication.
“Recall the victims recounted how well-treated they were by the criminals. So, one of the things I’d like you to do in the media is fact-finding and separating facts from fiction”, he said.
The abduction occurred on May 15, 2026, when armed men attacked three schools in Oriire Local Government Area and abducted pupils and teachers.
