Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, representing Oyo North, has shed light on why the Nigerian government cannot launch a military offensive against the bandits holding the abducted schoolchildren in Oyo State. According to him, any such attack would likely result in the deaths of all 47 pupils.
Gunmen recently kidnapped students from schools in Ogbomosho and Oriire Local Government Areas of Oyo State. Senator Buhari revealed that the criminals are using the children as human shields within their hideout.
Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Thursday night, Buhari said: “When the Federal government delegation came, we visited all the families, including the one where a woman was brutally murdered. We consoled her. She pleaded with us, even asking if we could recover her husband’s corpse—we don’t know if they buried him or threw it away.”
He further explained: “The forest spans seven states: Oyo, Kwara, Niger, Kebbi, Sokoto, and we share borders with Benin and Niger. In most cases, these people enter the forest, which is very thick, with no beginning or end. The sad aspect is that they keep moving, making tracking extremely difficult.
“This is not a conventional war. These are individuals crossing from other countries and moving constantly. Initially, they surrounded themselves with the children, and it was raining. If we decide to attack, they would kill all 47 children—they are using them as human shields.”