By Pascal Ibe

Introduction

The schoolchildren and teachers kidnapped by bandits in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State were freed on 10 July after about 56 days in captivity.

According to a statement by the presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, the victims were freed through the efforts of security agencies.

“Finally, all the kidnapped pupils and teachers in Oriire, Oyo State, have been rescued by our security agencies,” Onanuga said.

He disclosed that eight members of the kidnapping gang were arrested during the rescue operation and are now in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).

However, there have been counterclaims by some Nigerians on social media, alleging that a “huge ransom ” was paid for the freedom of the pupils and teachers.

Others also claimed that the present President Bola Tinubu-led administration staged the abduction and later released the pupils and teachers to gain political relevance.

When the victims and teachers were still in captivity, it was rumoured that Tinubu and Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo were at loggerheads after the governor allegedly failed to brief the president over the incident.

Before the release of the victims, the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, claimed that Makinde told him that the president refused to call him (Makinde) over the abduction of the pupils and teachers.

Claim

A blog page on the X platform, @Oyp_Matters (Oyo Matters) has claimed that the soldiers banned the governor from seeing the rescued victims.

The post reads, “JUST IN 🚨: Soldiers Bar Makinde’s Delegation from Accessing Oriire Rescued Victims at Military Hospital in Ibadan.”

The post has already garnered over 665k views with over 1.7k likes.

Verification

Keywords like “Makinde visits rescued Oyo pupils, teachers” were typed into Google search, and the results showed that Governor Makinde visited the rescued victims who are receiving medical attention at the Headquarters of the 2 Division Nigerian Army Medical Services, Odogbo Barracks, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital,  on 11 July.

A video from the visit was posted on the official Facebook page of the governor.

During the visit with other government officials in the state, Makinde said the safe rescue of the teachers and pupils held captive by bandits for 56 days is a moment of gratitude and relief for the state.

The governor said the rescued pupils and teachers would remain under observation for 48 hours.

“The rescued victims will remain under medical observation for the next 48 hours, after which an assessment will be conducted before their formal transfer from military authorities to the Oyo State Government for further management and rehabilitation,” he said.

Check out other news websites that reported this story here and here.

Verdict

The claim that soldiers stopped Makinde’s delegation from visiting the rescued victims in the hospital is FALSE.