Nine Killed During Oyo Kidnap Victims Rescue Operation, DSS DG Says

Nine people were killed during the operation to rescue kidnap victims in Oyo State, according to Director-General of the Department of State Services Oluwatosin Ajayi.

Ajayi said the dead included four civilians and five security personnel. He said a vigilante member and a police officer were killed during the first pursuit of the abductors, while more people died during a later raid on the kidnappers’ hideout.

The DSS chief said security operatives moved after receiving credible intelligence about the abduction. He described the rescue as difficult because one of the victims was a two-and-a-half-year-old child who could not have escaped quickly if troops had stormed the location without caution.

Ajayi also warned that false videos circulated on social media while the operation was going on. He said some clips presented as images from the Oyo incident were old footage from another country and were not connected to the rescue.

Punch and Vanguard both reported Ajayi’s account of the operation and the nine-death toll.

Sources: Punch, Vanguard