Christopher Musa, minister of defence, has revealed that the terrorists responsible for abducting schoolchildren and teachers in the Oriire Local Government Area (LGA) of Oyo state warned they would kill the hostages if Nigerian security forces attempted a forceful rescue operation.
Musa made this known during a video interview with News Central TV, with a preview of the interview released on Wednesday, July 9.
Recall that on Friday, May 15, gunmen stormed three schools in Oriire LGA, kidnapping 39 pupils and seven teachers, including the principal of one of the affected schools.
The incident sparked widespread anger across social media platforms and led to protests by concerned citizens calling for the immediate release of those held captive.
Musa shares terrorists’ worrying threat
Addressing the incident, Musa said security authorities had to approach the situation with extreme caution.
He said: “Unfortunately, bad things do happen. For whatever reason, they are looking for leverage, because we have some of their commanders with us, and they feel taking these kids and holding them to ransom can make us release their commanders. “And now, we are threatened. When we wanted to take action against them, that if we come any closer, they are going to kill all the kids.”
The defence minister also reassured Nigerians that efforts to secure the safe release of the abducted pupils and teachers are still underway.
He noted that security agencies continue to carry out coordinated operations across the troubled areas of Oyo state as part of ongoing measures to tackle the region’s security challenges.
Watch the video below
“They [the bandits] were like, ‘If we come any closer, they will kill all the kids.'”
Join us on NC Exclusive as Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, speaks on the Oyo school kidnapping and penalties for perpetrators.
Showing:
📅: 10th July, 2026 | 🕰️: 7 PM WAT |… pic.twitter.com/9rofe9AVLr— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) July 8, 2026
