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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Conflict & Security

Oyo rescue: Conflicting accounts of abduction release can both be true, says ex-DSS director

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • A former DSS director suggests conflicting accounts of the Oyo school abduction rescue are both plausible due to the fluid nature of the situation.
  • He explained that security forces may have surrounded the terrorists, cutting off supplies, forcing their hand even if a release was already being considered.
  • The former official also stated that the public should be grateful for any information shared about such operations, as details are often kept classified for years.

Conflicting narratives surrounding the release of schoolchildren and teachers abducted in Oyo State have been addressed by a former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree. He stated that both the captives' account and the Federal Government's version of a rescue operation could be true simultaneously, attributing this to the dynamic nature of such situations.

Well both can exist as the truth because see it’s fluid. The situation is very very fluid.

— Dennis AmachreeExplaining how conflicting accounts of the Oyo abduction rescue could both be true.

One of the freed teachers claimed the terrorists released them before security operatives arrived. This contrasts with the government's initial statement that the release followed a rescue operation involving arrests and no prisoner exchange. Amachree explained that security forces may have been closing in on the terrorists, who, facing encirclement and cut-off supplies, might have decided to release the captives.

You know some of them can say oh we’re almost releasing them and then of course the security agents came in and then did everything.

— Dennis AmachreeDescribing the potential interaction between terrorist actions and security force movements.

"The situation is very very fluid," Amachree told TVC News. "You know some of them can say oh we’re almost releasing them and then of course the security agents came in and then did everything." He emphasized that the terrorists' options were limited, as troops had surrounded them, cutting off food and communication lines, effectively forcing their hand.

One important thing you have to realize is that the operation itself you know was one that was squeezing life out of the terrorists. They were totally surrounded in that forest and as they’re moving they cut off all their food supplies.

— Dennis AmachreeDetailing the pressure applied by security forces on the abductors.

Regarding public concerns about the level of detail released by security agencies after rescue operations, Amachree urged Nigerians to be appreciative. He noted that information about similar operations has historically been classified for years. The DSS, along with other security institutions, has shared details to inform the public, a practice he believes should be welcomed.

So they could tell you that ‘oh yeah we’re almost releasing them’ but they knew that they’ve lost the game.

— Dennis AmachreeExplaining the terrorists' likely mindset during the operation.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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