The Senate leadership, on Tuesday, asked the federal government to sustain and intensify ongoing military and intelligence operations against terrorists, kidnappers, bandits and other criminal elements across the federation as demonstrated in the recent rescue of kidnapped pupils and teachers in OriireLocal Government Area of Oyo State.
The parliament, also, tasked the federal government to ensure the prompt payment of all statutory death benefits, insurance claims, pensions and other welfare entitlements due to the families of the fallen heroes and continue to strengthen the welfare, training, equipment and operational capacity of members of the Armed Forces and other security agencies.
This was contained in a resolution by the Senate following the rescue of the abducted students and teachers in Orire Local Government Area, Oyo State last Friday after spending 57 days in terrorists’ captivity.
The Senate arrived at the resolution after due consideration of a motion sponsored by Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, alongside 108 other senators, thereby commending the president for his decisive leadership, strategic direction and unwavering commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture.
Leading debate on the motion, Bamidele recalled how terrorists invaded schools in Orire Local Government Area, Oyo State abducting 39 pupils and seven teachers thereby subjecting innocent pupils, teachers, parents and entire federation to fear, anguish and emotional trauma.
Bamidele added that the abduction represented a disturbing expansion of organised criminal activities into the South-west, which constituted a direct attack on the right of every child to be educated in a safe and secure environment.
Immediately after the attack was reported, according to Bamidele, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu mobilised the Armed Forces and all security and intelligence agencies to deploy every lawful military asset to secure the unconditional release of the victims.
He explained that the Nigerian Armed Forces, in concerted efforts to rescue the abducted students and teachers, worked in close collaboration with intelligence and other security agencies to launch a painstaking, intelligence-driven, and highly coordinated rescue operation that lasted over fifty days.
Bamidele, thus, chronicled how the teachers and students were rescued, noting that the security forces successfully rescued the abducted school children and teachers on Friday, July 10.
He noted that the rescue of the pupils and their teachers brought an end to 56 days of captivity and uncertainty for the victims and their families, an operation that resulted in the arrest of eight terrorists with several terrorists neutralised.
He explained that the military campaign against the terrorists led to the ultimate sacrifice of Lieutenant F. A. Isaac (N/20349), Nigerian Army; Private Silas Musa (23NA/84/4604), 81 Battalion, Nigerian Army; and Sergeant Abena John Jerome (F/No. 234511), Nigeria Police Force.
While courageously defending the lives of innocent school children and their teachers, Bamidele revealed that Lance Corporal Adamu Hussain (16NA/75/6430), 81 Battalion, Nigerian Army, sustained injuries in the course of the operation
The leader of the senate said: “Although two of the abducted teachers (Michael and Dacon) sadly lost his life during the period of captivity, the successful rescue of the remaining victims without further tragic consequences remained a remarkable achievement worthy of national recognition;
“The successful operation has restored hope and confidence among Nigerians, particularly parents and school communities, while sending an unmistakable message that the federal government remains resolute in ensuring that criminal elements have no safe haven anywhere within the territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Fatai Buhari, seconded the motion, describing the day of the abduction as “Black Friday” in his senatorial district, saying it had been 56 days of agony until the victims were rescued.
Buhari observed that he was at the hospital to see the rescued pupils and teachers on the day the children and teachers were rescued, saying one of the children was on oxygen while others were on drips, but within 24 hours, all of them were already on their feet.
Senator Adamu Aliero (APC, Kebbi Central) also praised the Armed Forces for the successful operation but urged them not to relent until other abducted children still being held in parts of Borno and Yobe States regained their freedom.
“What the Armed Forces did is commendable. There are other children still in captivity in Borno and Yobe. I want the Armed Forces to ensure those children also regain their freedom,” he said.
Former Edo State Governor and Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, faulted Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s call for a United Nations-led investigation into the abduction.
He argued that such a move could undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty and diminish the achievements of local security institutions.
Oshiomhole said the period called for national unity and support for the country’s security agencies rather than actions capable of politicising the rescue operation.
“Suggesting that external bodies such as the United Nations should take over responsibilities that rightly belong to Nigeria amounts to questioning our nation’s sovereignty and undermining the efforts of our security institutions,” Oshiomhole said.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central) urged the government to complement the rescue effort with comprehensive psychological support, trauma counselling and rehabilitation programmes for the rescued pupils and teachers to help them recover from their ordeal.
Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session, commended President Tinubu for his commitment to tackling insecurity, assuring him that the National Assembly would continue to support measures aimed at restoring peace across the country.
“The president has done very well. We know the commitment he has deployed to change the trajectory of insecurity in the country. The Senate will continue to support him,” Barau said.
In its resolution, the Senate urged the federal government to sustain and intensify ongoing military and intelligence operations against terrorists, kidnappers, bandits and other criminal elements across the federation through the provision of modern equipment, advanced surveillance technology, intelligence capabilities, improved logistics and enhanced welfare packages for members of the Armed Forces and other security agencies until every Nigerian could live, work and pursue education without fear.
The parliament also urged the federal government “to ensure the prompt payment of all statutory death benefits, insurance claims, pensions and other welfare entitlements due to the families of the fallen heroes, and to continue strengthening the welfare, training, equipment and operational capacity of members of the Armed Forces and other security agencies.”
It further called on all Nigerians to continue supporting the Nigeria Armed Forces and other security agencies through timely intelligence, cooperation and patriotism.
It paid glowing tribute to the memory of Lieutenant F. A. Isaac (N/20349), Private Silas Musa (23NA/84/4604), 81 Battalion, Nigerian Army, and Sergeant Abena John Jerome (F/No. 234511), Nigeria Police Force, who paid the supreme sacrifice during the rescue operation.
The parliament commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for his decisive leadership, strategic direction and unwavering commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture.
The Senate also urged Nigerians to continue supporting security agencies through timely intelligence sharing and cooperation, insisting that defeating terrorism and banditry requires a collective national effort.
Meanwhile, the upper chamber received for first reading three executive bills seeking amendments to the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the Federal Medical Centres Act and the Nigerian Correctional Service Act as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s justice and healthcare systems.
SGF Blasts Makinde for Playing Politics with Oriire Abduction
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, has berated the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, for allegedly politicising the abduction of the students and teachers abducted from Oriire in Oyo State.
Akume delivered the rebuke on Tuesday in Abuja at a parley with members of the Global Association of Christian and Muslim Youth for Peace and Development led by its President, Peter Asuquo Bassey.
The criticism was on the trail of the complaints by the Oyo State governor that he was yet to receive a call from the president over the abduction and release of the over 50 victims.
Akume downplayed the grievance by Makinde, noting what was before the president was weighty than a telephone call as that would not have resolved the problem at hand.
Akume said: “We live in a society where everything is politicised. Yes, we inherited difficult situations but we are improving by the day. I just had a meeting with the Italian Ambassador this afternoon and I told him that terror has no boundary. It is everywhere.
“I also assured him that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken the fight against insecurity very seriously. You could see the political sagacity and strategy of the president by ensuring the release of our dear ones who were held captives by these crooks.
“Why would anyone hold people in captivity including the young ones if not for self-seeking opportunism. They are looking for money.
“When the noise was rife that the President didn’t place a phone call to someone, it doesn’t make sense. Would a telephone call to that person have resolved the case? Would those held captives have been released?
“No. It is the strategy being used to ensure the safety of those held in captivity that should be paramount. We should be interested in the release of these children and others. We should not be interested in a telephone call.
“This is why I tell people that Asiwaju (the President) is a doer. He is not a talker. He is like the Centurion of the old Roman Empire whose services were rendered in deeds and not in words.
“His leadership is defined by action and results. Nigerians wanted to see the safe return of those innocent children and, today, they have been rescued through the strategic efforts of our security agencies under the President’s leadership. That is what matters.”
He commended the President’s strategic leadership that culminated in the successful rescue of the abducted Oriire pupils and teachers, saying the President is a leader who backs his promises with decisive action.
The SGF said the successful rescue operation underscored the administration’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding the lives and property of Nigerians through well-coordinated security operations rather than public grandstanding.
According to him, the federal government has adopted a deliberate and intelligence-driven approach to combating insecurity, stressing that terrorism and kidnapping required carefully planned security operations rather than political rhetoric.
LAUTECH Teaching Hospital Discharges 31 Rescued Pupils, Retains Eight as One Develops Heart Defect
The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, has discharged 31 of the 39 pupils rescued from the captivity of terrorists, after certifying them medically fit to return to their families.
The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Prof. Olawale Olakulehin, made the disclosure in a statement Tuesday, explaining that while the majority of the children had recovered sufficiently to be discharged, eight others would remain under close medical observation and treatment to ensure their complete recovery.
He revealed that comprehensive medical examinations carried out on the rescued pupils led to the discovery of a congenital heart defect in one of them.
According to him, the child’s parents were unaware of the medical condition before the hospital’s assessment.
“The child has a hole in the heart, which was discovered during our medical evaluation. There is no cause for alarm because the child is stable and responding well.
“We have commenced the necessary medical procedures and will formally notify the Oyo State Government to facilitate the next phase of treatment,” he said.
He explained that the discharge of the 31 pupils represented another important milestone in the rehabilitation process of the rescued victims, adding that the remaining eight children would continue to receive specialist medical care until certified fit to return home.
The CMD reassured parents and members of the public that the welfare of the rescued children remained the hospital’s foremost priority, stressing that medical experts would continue to monitor both their physical and psychological well-being as part of a comprehensive post-rescue recovery programme.
Olawale Ajimotokan, Sunday Aborisade and Kemi Olaitan