OYO KIDNAPPING CARRIED OUT BY DISLODGED TERRORISTS- DHQ
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The Defence Headquarters said that the recent kidnapping in Oyo State was done by terrorists who had been forced to move from other areas of the country because of strong military actions.
The military leadership made this statement on Thursday when responding to what they called “misleading and false reports” about comments from the Defence Headquarters regarding how terrorists and criminals are categorized in the South-West.
In a statement signed by the director of defense media operations, Maj.-Gen. Michael Onoja, the DHQ said the people who carried out the kidnapping in Oyo were members of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) group, who had been pushed out of other areas due to the ongoing military efforts nationwide.
The statement said, “The recent kidnapping in Oyo State was clearly carried out by JAS terrorists who had been driven out of other parts of the country because of the strong military operations taking place everywhere.”
The DHQ denied reports suggesting it referred to terrorists operating in the South-West as ordinary criminals, insisting that such interpretations were inaccurate and misleading.
“It is therefore inaccurate and misleading to suggest that the Defence Headquarters, at any point, referred to vicious and violent terrorists as criminals,” Onoja stated.
The military said its earlier clarification on security developments in the South-West was aimed at providing intelligence-based context to avoid misinformation and unnecessary panic among residents.
It also stressed that the Armed Forces of Nigeria remained committed to supporting constitutional governance and protecting democratic institutions.
“At no time did the Defence Headquarters undermine the authority of any democratically elected leader or seek to diminish the gravity of the heinous crime committed against innocent citizens by terrorist elements,” the statement added.
The DHQ further disclosed that troops remained actively deployed across affected areas in collaboration with other security agencies and local stakeholders to dismantle terrorist and criminal networks threatening national peace and stability.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria remains resolute in dismantling all criminal and terrorist networks threatening the peace, stability and unity of the nation,” the statement said.
The clarification followed recent attacks on communities in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, where armed terrorists abducted pupils, teachers and other residents from Community High School, Ahoro-Esinle.
The incident also left several persons dead, while one of the abducted teachers, Michael Oyedokun, was later killed after a video linked to the attack surfaced online.
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