Kidnapping: Make Oriire rescue the standard, not the exception, ADC tells Tinubu

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on President Bola Tinubu to establish the recent successful rescue of abducted pupils and teachers in Oriire, Oyo State, as the national benchmark for tackling the persistent issue of kidnapping in Nigeria. The opposition party stressed that every Nigerian held captive deserves the same level of urgency and determination from the Federal Government.

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The rescue in Oriire should not stand as an exceptional story that the government recounts with pride. It should be the standard by which every response to kidnapping is measured.

In a statement released on Friday, the ADC acknowledged the rescue operation but urged the Tinubu administration to extend this resolve nationwide. The party's National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, was reacting to President Tinubu's remarks about rejecting negotiations with kidnappers and instead relying on security operations, which included targeting their families. "The rescue in Oriire should not stand as an exceptional story that the government recounts with pride. It should be the standard by which every response to kidnapping is measured," Abdullahi stated.

The ADC highlighted that while each life rescued brings victory and relief to reunited families, the true measure of effective governance lies in making such outcomes routine, not exceptional. "Those families ask for no special treatment. They ask only for equal humanity and equal citizenship," Abdullahi added, pointing out the ongoing plight of hundreds of families in Kwara State and communities in Borno, Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, and Benue, where loved ones remain in captivity.

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Those families ask for no special treatment. They ask only for equal humanity and equal citizenship.

The party questioned the government's capacity to apply the same strategy used in the Oriire rescue to other victims who have been held for much longer. "If the Federal Government has the intelligence network, the operational capacity, and the political resolve to bring the victims in Oriire home without yielding to the demands of kidnappers, why has the government not applied the same strategy to rescue other victims who have fallen victims much longer and have continued to languish in kidnappers’ dens till today?" the ADC asked. The party argued that the president's account of the Oriire operation demonstrated the government's capability to confront kidnappers decisively, a determination that should be applied universally across the country, irrespective of geography or ethnicity.

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If the Federal Government has the intelligence network, the operational capacity, and the political resolve to bring the victims in Oriire home without yielding to the demands of kidnappers, why has the government not applied the same strategy to rescue other victims who have fallen victims much longer and have continued to languish in kidnappers’ dens till today?