9 killed during Oyo hostage operation

Friday, September 4, 2026 - No fewer than nine people, comprising four civilians and five security personnel, were killed during an operation to rescue victims abducted by suspected members of an international terrorist group in Oyo State.

The Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Ajayi, disclosed this in an interview published by Premium Times.

He explained that security operatives launched an immediate pursuit of the kidnappers after receiving credible intelligence about the incident.

Ajayi said a vigilante and a police officer were killed during the initial pursuit, while more fatalities were recorded during a subsequent raid on the kidnappers’ hideout.

“Immediately after the incident happened, based on credible intelligence, troops chased them immediately, and sadly, a vigilante and a policeman were killed. During the second raid, more were killed, making a total of nine fatalities, four civilians and five security personnel,” Ajayi said.

The DSS boss described the rescue operation as complex, noting that the victims included a two-and-a-half-year-old child who could not have escaped quickly during an assault on the location.

“It was a complex operation involving a two-and-a-half-year-old infant who could not run much if we invaded the place,” he explained.

Ajayi also raised concerns over what he described as widespread disinformation circulated on social media during the rescue operation.

He said videos purportedly showing children being tortured during the incident were actually old footage from another country and were unrelated to the Oyo operation.

“As expected, the rescue operation attracted a lot of social media disinformation. You have to sieve the information there,” he said.

He added, “While that incident lasted, they were posting deepfake videos of children beaten with lacerations on their bodies. They were actually footage from a particular country on witchcraft-related incidents passed off as real-time crude events here.”

The DSS DG urged the media to intensify fact-checking and ensure that verified information was separated from false narratives, particularly during sensitive security operations.

“Recall the victims recounted how well-treated they were by the criminals. So, one of the things I’d like you to do in the media is fact-finding and separating facts from fiction,” he said.

Ajayi said the kidnap group involved in the incident was an international terrorist organisation with links to Al-Qaeda, adding that the Service had previously arrested its leaders.

He disclosed that the arrested kingpins were linked to the Abuja-Kaduna train attack and had allegedly been planning further abductions targeting foreigners, students, women and children.

“Citizens ought to know that the incarcerated leaders of the kidnap group who were requested in exchange for the victims were arrested last year by the Service; their arrest helped to prevent high-profile attacks,” Ajayi said.

He added that the suspects were “found complicit in the Abuja/Kaduna train attack and were planning more kidnappings of foreigners, students, women and their children on a large scale.”

According to him, the group was seeking recognition as a state and freedom to practise its religion in a designated territory, and arresting its leaders was a proactive security measure.

Ajayi said the kingpins and three other collaborators had been sentenced to life imprisonment, although the DSS would seek stiffer punishment.

“The kingpins are the ones now sentenced to life imprisonment. The three other collaborators earned life imprisonment, and the Service will push for a stiffer penalty,” he said.

The Oyo abduction reportedly occurred on May 15, 2026, when armed men attacked three schools in Oriire LGA and abducted pupils and teachers.

Security agencies in the country subsequently conducted a joint operation that led to the rescue of the victims.