- Safiu Kehinde
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde has on Saturday paid a visit to the rescued students and teachers abducted at Oriire Local Government Area of the state.
Makinde visited the 2 Division Military Hospital in Ibadan, the state’s capital city, where the rescued victims were admitted for medical treatment after being rescued.
NPO Reported that the victims were on Friday evening rescued after 56 days in captivity.
Their rescue had sparked wild jubilation across the country.
Addressing newsmen after the visit, Makinde confirmed that all the 39 students and five out of the seven teachers abducted by the suspected Ansaru terrorists regained their rescue.
The governor further confirmed the death of some security personnel during the operation.
“All the 39 students are back. Also, five out of the seven teachers. We give glory to God.
“We say thank you to our troops. We lost some officers and parts of our troops.
“We also remember civilians and military personnel who lost their lives during this process, our administration will ensure that they did not die in vain.
“May their souls rest in peace and may God continue to comfort their families.” He said.
The governor pledged to provide necessary support to ensure the full recovery of all the rescued victims.
“We will continue to provide the necessary support needed for their full recovery and reunite them with their families.” He said.
On the families of the deceased security personnel as well as the late Micheal Oyedokun, the mathematics teacher who was killed in captivity, Makinde assured their families of ensuring that they did not die in vain.
“About the families that have lost their loved ones in this whole process, we want to assure them that their loved ones will not die in vain.” He said.
Speaking on the status of the victims during his engagement with them, Makinde said they were all excited to be freed.
He however admitted that some of them are still suffering from post traumatic stress which will be addressed by medical experts.
“First, I can say they were happy to be out of captivity. Just like any of us when your freddom is taken away, it is a diferent set of thing. But they are glad to be back.
“Some of them are still very afraid. They had to have a bit of medical intervention, post traumatic issues to be addressed. But we have a team ready to do that.” He said.
Speaking on plan to reunite the victims with their families, Makinde said the rescued victims are still under medical care and watch for the next 48 hours.
He hinted plans to get them transferred from the military hospital to state’s care by Monday.
Meanwhile, Makinde revealed ongoing effort to bring some of the family members to see the victims at the military hospital, disclosing that one of the students have been demanding to see her mother.
“The plan right now is to watch them over the next 48 hours.
“By Monday, we think an assessment will be done and maybe there will be formal transfer from the military to the state and then we can manage the process from that point forward.
“We are also pulling logistics together to bring the family members together to come and see them.
“There is a small girl in there that has been basically asking that where is my Mummy. At least we want the Mummy to be able to come and see her.” He said.
In his address to Nigerians, Makinde called for unity in confronting the challenges facing the country.
“My final message is that look, it is our country. All countries around the world do have challenges.
“So, when we are challenged, it is not usually the best time to sow seeds of division. It is the best time for us to come together and confront our challenges.” The Oyo governor added.