No fewer than 815 kidnap victims have been rescued by security forces in the last three months following renewed offensives against terrorists and other criminal elements across the country.
The victims were rescued from terrorists’ and kidnappers’ dens in various locations across the country between April and 25 June 2026.
Some of these victims spent months in captivity, while others were rescued in the process of their abduction.
However, despite these successes, terrorists, within the same period, on 15 May 2026, attacked three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria, and abducted 49 pupils, teachers, and a toddler.
On the same day, terrorists abducted 42 pupils, including toddlers, from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary Schools in the Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.
A teacher from the Oyo school was beheaded, and a gory video was released to spread fear.
These victims have spent over a month with their captors while the government keeps assuring citizens of efforts towards their rescue.
Security experts, reacting to this mixed bag of successes, called for the adoption of technology in the fight against crime to prevent the abduction of citizens.
A former Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Barr. Mike Ejiofor, said rather than waiting to rescue victims, the government must find a way to prevent the abductions from happening.
He advocated the deployment of satellite technology to identify the terrorists before they attack any community.
He said, “It is better to prevent kidnappings than to rescue victims. It is better to prevent it from happening than to allow it to happen because, once it happens, criminal elements will use people as shields, making it difficult for tactical operations to rescue rather than negotiate and pay, even though the government will never accept that they are paying.
The only way out is to use technology and prevent these attacks because they come in droves, so they can be easily spotted and attacked on the way.”
The Managing Director, Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited, Kabir Adamu, said Nigeria lacked the tactical team to rescue kidnap victims without negotiations.
He said kidnappings were still thriving because, despite laws prohibiting ransom, bandits were still profiting from the illegal venture.
“It’s still a money-making venture. They are still able to collect money, they are still able to spend the money, and they are able to enjoy whatever it is that they wanted out of the money that they make from the kidnappings. And that’s the major reason why it’s continuing,” he said.
Speaking further, he noted that another reason kidnapping thrives is the vast ungoverned spaces, particularly forests and other protected areas.
