Young Progressives Party (YPP) has called on President Bola Tinubu and security agencies to adopt across the country the strategy used in the rescue of abducted pupils and teachers in Oyo Schools, saying that decisive security operations remain the most effective response to kidnapping and terrorism.
In a statement issued on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Wale Egbeola-Martins, the opposition party lauded the coordinated operation that secured the release of the victims after 56 days in captivity and led to the arrest and neutralisation of several kidnappers.
The YPP described the rescue as a major victory against insecurity, saying successful rescue missions carried out through force rather than ransom negotiations would discourage criminal groups from relying on kidnapping as a profitable enterprise.
The party urged the Federal Government to extend the same level of commitment to other victims still in captivity, particularly students abducted in Borno State on the same day as the Oriire attack.”Our thoughts particularly go to the students abducted in Borno State on the same day the Oriire pupils and teachers were kidnapped.
“Their families deserve the same hope, commitment and decisive action that brought joy to the people of Oyo State.
“Every Nigerian life is equally precious, irrespective of location,” the statement said.Reaffirming its opposition to negotiating with armed groups, the YPP maintained that terrorists and kidnappers should be confronted through sustained security operations and prosecuted under the law.
“The Young Progressives Party remains resolute in its position that negotiating with terrorists should never become a national security policy. Terrorists and kidnappers have declared war against the Nigerian state, and the appropriate response is to decisively dismantle their networks and bring them to justice,” the party stated.
It added that government must retain its monopoly on the legitimate use of force and avoid actions that could strengthen criminal groups through ransom payments.
The party also expressed concern over the increasing attacks on schools, warning that the trend could worsen Nigeria’s education crisis by discouraging school enrolment and increasing the number of out-of-school children.
To address the challenge, the YPP called on the Federal Government and state governments to strengthen the Safe Schools Initiative by deploying more security personnel, improving intelligence gathering, investing in surveillance technology, enhancing community policing and ensuring rapid-response mechanisms around schools.The party’s position followed Friday’s announcement by the Presidency that joint security forces comprising the military, the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force rescued the abducted pupils and teachers after 56 days in captivity.President Tinubu disclosed that eight suspected kidnappers were arrested during the operation, while several others were killed.The victims were abducted on May 15, 2026, when gunmen attacked Community High School and L.A. Primary School in Ahoro-Esiele, as well as Baptist Nursery and Primary School in Yawota, all in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, abducting 39 pupils, seven teachers and a toddler.
