Tinubu Deploys Rescue Squad, Approves 1,000 Forest Guards After Oyo Kidnapping

President Bola Tinubu has approved the deployment of a specialized rescue squad and the recruitment of at least 1,000 forest guards in Oyo State following the May 15, 2026 kidnapping of students and teachers from three schools in the Oriire Local Government Area. The announcement was made on Sunday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

The schools targeted were Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School. The abductions took place in the Esiele and Yawota communities, rural farming settlements in Oriire LGA where forest cover is dense and security presence has historically been thin.

The Federal Government's response came in the form of a high-level delegation led by Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila. Accompanying him were National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, Chief of Defence Staff Christopher Musa, and Special Adviser on Media Sunday Dare. That is not a routine visit. Sending the country's top security officials to a local government area in Oyo State signals that the presidency is treating this as a national security crisis, not a regional incident.

The delegation met with community leaders and lawmakers in the affected areas and conveyed the President's concern and commitment to securing the safe return of the victims.

Two concrete measures have been approved so far.

The first is the recruitment of 1,000 forest guards in Oyo State, to be done in collaboration with the state government. Forest guards are not soldiers. They are locally recruited, terrain-familiar personnel whose primary value lies in intelligence gathering, early warning, and monitoring of movement through difficult bush and forest corridors. In a state where kidnappers have repeatedly used forest cover to move victims and evade security forces, a properly trained and equipped forest guard network is a meaningful intervention, if it is implemented seriously and not just announced.

The second is the deployment of a specialized security team with what the statement describes as cutting-edge rescue capabilities, specifically tasked with securing the return of the kidnapped students and teachers.

The delegation also told community leaders that their request for the establishment of a permanent military base in the area would be passed on to the President for consideration.

That request from the community is telling. These are not people asking for token gestures. They are asking for a sustained, visible security presence because they have lived long enough with the alternative to know what absence costs. A military base request is a community saying: we need someone here all the time, not just when something goes wrong.