Nine people, including four civilians and five security personnel, were killed during a security operation to rescue victims abducted by suspected members of an international terrorist organisation in Oyo State, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Tosin Ajayi, has disclosed.
Ajayi made the disclosure in an interview published by Premium Times, explaining that security agencies launched an immediate pursuit of the abductors after receiving credible intelligence about the incident.
According to him, a vigilante member and a police officer were killed during the initial pursuit, while additional casualties were recorded when security forces later raided 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 chief described the rescue operation as particularly complex because one of the abductees was a two-and-a-half-year-old child who would not have been able to escape quickly if security forces had launched a direct assault.
“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 said.
Ajayi also raised concerns over the spread of misinformation during the operation, saying social media users circulated old videos and manipulated footage as purported evidence of children being tortured during the Oyo incident.
He said some of the videos were actually from another country and were unrelated to the abduction.
“As expected, the rescue operation attracted a lot of social media disinformation. You have to sieve the information there,” he said.
According to Ajayi, some videos showing injured children were falsely presented online as real-time footage from the operation.
“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,” he said.
The DSS director-general urged media organisations to strengthen their fact-checking efforts during sensitive security operations and ensure that verified information is clearly distinguished from false reports.
He noted that the rescued victims had reportedly told security officials that they were treated well by their abductors, further stressing the importance of verifying information before publication.
Ajayi also alleged that the group behind the abduction was an international terrorist organisation with links to Al-Qaeda.
He said the DSS had previously arrested some of the group’s leaders, who were allegedly connected to the Abuja-Kaduna train attack and were planning additional kidnappings 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 allegedly involved in the Abuja-Kaduna train attack and were planning further large-scale kidnappings.
According to the DSS chief, the group was seeking recognition as a state and freedom to practise its religion within a designated territory.
Ajayi said the group’s kingpins and three other collaborators had been sentenced to life imprisonment, although the DSS would continue to pursue stiffer penalties.
The Oyo abduction occurred on May 15, 2026, when armed men reportedly attacked three schools in Oriire Local Government Area and abducted pupils and teachers.
Security agencies subsequently launched a joint operation that resulted in the rescue of the victims.
