Former Anambra State Governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential aspirant, Peter Obi, has said he would have personally gone into the forest where the a.bducted pupils and teachers from Oriire, Oyo State, were being held if he were Nigeria’s President.
Obi said everyone in the camp would have been rescued, even if the operation resulted in casualties.
He also criticised President Bola Tinubu’s response to the incident, alleging that the President did not personally contact Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde throughout the more than 50 days the victims spent in captivity.
The former governor made the comments during an interview on State of the Nation with Peter Obi on Afia TV’s Eastern Eye, hosted by Alex Ogbodo and aired live on Thursday.
The Oriire kidnapping took place on May 15, 2026, when dozens of schoolchildren and teachers were abducted in Oyo State. They remained in captivity for about 56 days before security operatives rescued them in July.
Speaking on the incident, Obi argued that insecurity requires swift and decisive action, insisting he would not have delayed his response.
He said, “Days of kidnap of Oyo children. The President did not call the governor. What do you mean? Fifty days.
“But I’ll be there in two days. Is the bush not in Nigeria? That bush they went in. The bush is in Nigeria.
“Everybody in that bush will come out. Everybody. There might be casualties but everybody will come out.”
Obi also criticised the way security operations are handled in the country, saying authorities should publicly present criminal suspects after their arrest instead of keeping such operations secret.
He said, “And it is time when we say we resolve something. We arrest some people. Parade the people. Let people see them. What is happening?
“When America or other countries kill people like that, they parade them. They show it. Everybody sees it.
“In Nigeria, everything is shrouded in secrecy.”
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