By BANNERNEWS Reporter, Abuja
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured Nigerians that the Federal Government is deploying all available resources to secure the release of abducted schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo and Borno states, declaring that no child should be held in captivity.
The assurance came on Thursday through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, during a national security briefing in Abuja. He described the attacks on schools as a direct assault on Nigeria’s future and a threat to the country’s education system.
The President’s pledge follows growing public outrage over the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oyo State and a separate terrorist attack on a school in Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, where at least 42 children were reported missing.
The incidents have triggered nationwide protests by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), civil society organisations, parents and students, who have demanded the immediate rescue of the victims and stronger measures to protect schools from attacks.
Idris said President Tinubu had directed security agencies to employ every lawful means necessary to secure the safe return of the victims. He disclosed that the Armed Forces, Department of State Services, Nigeria Police Force, National Intelligence Agency, Office of the National Security Adviser and the National Counter Terrorism Centre are working jointly on rescue operations.
According to him, intelligence gathering, aerial surveillance, community engagement and search-and-rescue missions are being sustained as efforts intensify to locate and recover the abducted children and teachers.
The minister said the administration’s strategy against insecurity goes beyond military force and includes intelligence-led operations, technological support and ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture.
He noted that one of the key reforms being pursued by the government is the establishment of state policing, which he said would create a more responsive and community-based security system capable of tackling local threats more effectively.
Idris further revealed that President Tinubu has remained in close contact with Oyo State Governor and security agencies overseeing the rescue efforts, assuring affected families that the government would not relent until the victims are safely reunited with their loved ones.
“To the families whose children remain in captivity, your pain is our pain,” the minister said, adding that the government remains committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice and preventing future attacks on schools.
