The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has described the rescue of 44 students and teachers kidnapped in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State as proof of the efficacy of President Bola Tinubu’s inter-agency security approach.

The group made this known in a statement on Sunday by its chairman, Emeka Nwankpa, and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo.

According to the group, the rescue of the victims after nearly two months in captivity further affirms an improved and better inter-agency synergy and coordination approach under the Tinubu administration.

It noted that information from the successful security operation indicated it was intelligence-driven, with operatives from various security agencies playing complementary roles.

The group said this proved the efficacy of inter-agency synergy, a central focus of the Tinubu administration’s revamped national security architecture.

The group said, “Like many Nigerians, we are elated that the hostage standoff that gripped the nation for nearly two months in the aftermath of the abduction of 44 pupils and students from Oriire Local Government in Oyo state, has finally ended.

“It is a culmination of the speedy response of President Bola Tinubu, who, within a few hours of the incident, gave a marching order to the security forces to ensure the release of the victims while condemning the killing of one of the abducted teachers by the terrorists.

“We dare say that the president’s immediate reaction was the trigger for security operatives to pin the terrorists within the Old Oyo National Park, which prevented them from moving the abducted children and teachers to adjoining forests, like what happened with the 2014 Chibok girls abduction, where 91 of the abducted girls are still missing,” the group added.

According to the group, it has since emerged that a combined team of special forces personnel from the army, navy and the air force, as well as operatives from the State Security Service (SSS) and the police, engaged in a series of coordinated operations for over a month, managed by the Office of National Security Adviser.

“This was at a time opposition elements had been whipping up sentiments against the Tinubu administration on what they tagged inactivity and non-response, even while the president kept giving his word on the rescue of all the abducted individuals.

“It is against this backdrop that we commend the President for again keeping his promise, and the security agencies for working in close cooperation, especially as many Nigerians now know that in the course of the rescue operation, many arrests were made in Oyo State and other locations across the country,” the group said.

It added that the fact that the Army later revealed that security agencies were able to identify the terrorists’ kingpins behind the kidnapping, and even dismantled their network before conducting the actual rescue, showed that the agencies were up to the task of stemming the tide of insecurity in the country.

“It is also instructive that the Tinubu administration insisted on not releasing the two detained leaders of the terrorist group, Ansaru, whom the abductors want released in exchange for the abducted pupils and their teachers.

“We are convinced that with the high level of active inter-agency synergy and collaboration that ended the hostage crisis in the state, the armed forces have what it takes to take the battle to the terrorists and rescue hostages in similar situations as they have been doing in some parts of Northern Nigeria,” it added.

The group urged Nigerians to ignore individuals seeking to play politics with security.

(NAN)