By Emmanuel Nduka
A former operative of the Department of State Services (DSS), Seyi Adetayo, has revealed details of the intelligence-led operation that secured the release of abducted pupils, teachers and caregivers in Oyo State, saying the rescue was achieved through sustained pressure on members of the terrorist group Ansarul rather than negotiations with the kidnappers.
Speaking during an interview on local television TVC, Adetayo said the operation was the culmination of months of intelligence gathering and strategic planning that began after the DSS arrested two senior Ansarul leaders in 2024.
According to him, the arrests of Abbas Mukhtar on May 9, 2024, and Abubakar Abba, popularly known as Mamuda, on July 27, 2024, weakened the terrorist group and prompted its members to orchestrate the abduction in a bid to force the Federal Government to release the detained leaders.
Adetayo said both men occupied strategic positions within Ansarul and had been wanted by authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom over terrorism-related offences.
He said: “I think we need to first have an understanding of the background. Sometime last year, precisely May 9, one of the top Al-Qaeda affiliates known as Ansarul leaders was arrested by the DSS. He’s known as Abbas Mukhtar. The second popularly known as Mamuda, whose name is Abubakar Abba was arrested July 27 last year by the DSS”.
According to him, the arrests triggered desperate attempts by the group to secure the release of its leaders.
“When they were arrested, the members became desperate to secure the release of their leaders, and several attacks were attempted last year and foiled by our security forces especially the Wawa detention facilities of the armed forces.
“After that, they went quietly and started planning this attack. This was a carefully planned strategic operation”.
Adetayo explained that the terrorists deliberately chose Oyo State because of its proximity to forest hideouts and the political significance of carrying out such an operation in the South-West.
“The president is from the South West so they decided to move the operation there. They needed somewhere close to the forest where they could easily hibernate. International terrorist organisation don’t plan an attack between a day or two. It can take them up to six months. These are professionals,” he said.
The former DSS operative commended the Federal Government for refusing to negotiate with the kidnappers, insisting that yielding to their demands would have undermined Nigeria’s international credibility and intelligence partnerships.
“The government needs to be commended in their resolve to refuse to negotiate with this terrorist. Negotiation is rejected; the only option is a rescue,” he said.
Adetayo noted that because many of the victims were toddlers, the rescue mission required patience, precision and intelligence rather than a direct military assault.
“We are talking about kids within the age 2, 4 years. It is not an operation that one needs to go and gunblaze, but one that requires a careful operational plan”.
He further disclosed that security agencies identified and arrested the mothers, wives, children and close associates of the kidnappers in several northern states before sending video evidence of the arrests to the terrorists as part of psychological pressure during the operation.
“Security agencies identified the kidnappers’ (Ansarul Terrorists) mothers, wives, children and close associates. They arrested them, recorded videos and sent them to the abductors. They began to arrest family members, and associates of these people.
“So what they did was make a video and sent it back to the terrorists. We have seen the one you killed, if you kill anyone, we will also kill yours.
“The armed forces in their quick response, encircled them before they could move them from the Oyo forest to the Kainji forest which is their base which could have been very difficult for rescue”.
Drawing lessons from the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction, Adetayo said security agencies acted swiftly to prevent the abductors from relocating the victims to their operational base in the Kainji forest.
“If you compare this to the Chibok girls, the response was very slow and before the government could respond, they had already shared those children, so learning from them, they launched operation immediately and covered the entire forest area and closed in on them. Cut off communication and network supply in the forest, so the armed forces only released communication, when they wanted.”
The victims regained their freedom on July 10 after a month-long intelligence-led operation involving 10 security agencies, the Oyo State Security Network (Amotekun), local vigilantes and hunters.
The coordinated operation dismantled the criminal network behind the abduction and forced the kidnappers to release the captives without any reported ransom payment.
