Nigeria rescues 45 schoolchildren in Oyo after 56-day siege

After 56 days in captivity, 39 schoolchildren and six teachers were rescued from kidnappers in Oyo State, Nigeria, in a major security operation that concluded on July 10, 2026. The successful mission, which involved multiple security agencies, resulted in the arrest of eight suspects and the death of several kidnappers, but also claimed the lives of three security personnel and one abducted teacher.

The Nigerian Senate identified the fallen operatives on July 14 as Lieutenant F.A. Isaac, Private Silas Musa, and Sergeant Abena John Jerome. Lance Corporal Adamu Hussain was wounded during the operation. Lawmakers paid tribute to the personnel and urged the federal government to promptly pay all death benefits and entitlements to their families. The father of Lieutenant Isaac expressed the family's devastation, describing his son as a brilliant young officer whose life was cut short shortly after he was directed to lead the rescue operation.

The abduction occurred on May 15 when armed men attacked multiple schools in the Oriire Local Government Area, a rare and alarming escalation of mass kidnappings into Nigeria's historically calmer southwest region. Authorities have attributed...