Former Anambra State Governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential aspirant, Peter Obi, has declared that he would have personally entered the forest where pupils and teachers abducted in Oriire, Oyo State, were held if he were President of Nigeria.
Obi made the assertion during an interview on State of the Nation with Peter Obi on Afia TV’s Eastern Eye programme, hosted by Alex Ogbodo, which aired on Thursday.
The Oriire abduction took place on May 15, 2026, when dozens of schoolchildren and teachers were kidnapped from schools in Oyo State. The victims spent about 56 days in captivity before being rescued by security forces in July.
Obi faulted President Bola Tinubu’s handling of the incident, claiming the President failed to personally contact Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde throughout the more than 50-day ordeal.
“Days of kidnap of Oyo children. The President did not call the governor. What do you mean? Fifty days,” Obi said.
He insisted that decisive leadership was required to tackle insecurity and that he would not have waited weeks before taking action.
“But I’ll be there in two days. Is the bush not in Nigeria? That bush they went in. The bush is in Nigeria.
“Everybody in that bush will come out. Everybody. There might be casualties but everybody will come out,” Obi stated.
The former governor emphasised that as President, he would take full responsibility for the security of citizens and act swiftly to end such crises, even at personal risk.