Abduction: Gbajabiamila, Ribadu lead Tinubu’s delegation to Oyo

A presidential delegation led by Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, has visited Esiele and Yawota communities in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, where dozens of schoolchildren and staff were abducted by gunmen.

The visit came nearly two weeks after armed men attacked Baptist Nursery and Primary Schools in the communities and abducted about 46 pupils and teachers.

Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Public Communications, disclosed the visit in a post on his X account on Sunday.

According to Dare, the delegation included the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu; Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa; Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe; and himself.

He said President Tinubu had directed security agencies to intensify efforts to secure the release of the victims and arrest those responsible for the abduction.

“The President has set in motion a series of coordinated efforts to free the victims and arrest the kidnappers,” Dare said.

The delegation visited the affected communities to assess the security situation and ongoing rescue efforts.

The visit followed an earlier trip to the area by the Inspector-General of Police shortly after the attack to assess the situation and oversee security deployments.

Esiele and Yawota are located within a vast forest reserve that stretches across eight local government areas in Oyo State and shares boundaries with parts of neighbouring Kwara State. Security officials have identified the dense forest terrain as a major challenge in ongoing efforts to track down the abductors and secure the release of the victims.