Former Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura, has expressed concern over the circumstances surrounding the rescue of teachers and schoolchildren kidnapped by suspected Ansaru terrorists in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV, Daura said he does not believe the rescue operation significantly weakened the terrorist group. He noted that media reports indicated the kidnappers abandoned the victims before fleeing.
According to Daura, if those reports are accurate, it suggests that the terrorists with the most valuable information about the group’s operations escaped and could regroup for future attacks.
In his words, “What I read from the media was that they abandoned the pupils. So that means those that might have been in possession of the real information that they have must have disappeared. They say, ‘He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day.'”
Daura’s remarks highlight concerns that, despite the victims’ rescue, key members of the terrorist group may have evaded capture.
