By Paul Joseph
The successful rescue of abducted pupils and teachers in Oyo State has been widely celebrated, but it has also reopened a painful national conversation: what about the hundreds of other Nigerian children who were kidnapped years ago and are yet to return home?
While the Oyo operation demonstrated that security agencies can achieve results when intelligence, coordination and political will align, it also reminded Nigerians that many families have waited months—and in some cases years—for similar good news that has never come.
The celebration over the Oyo rescue quickly gave way to renewed calls for authorities to intensify efforts to locate children still held by terrorists and criminal gangs across the country. Families of long-missing victims say every successful rescue elsewhere revives both hope and heartbreak.
The most enduring symbol of Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis remains the 2014 abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls in Borno State. Although dozens have been rescued or released over the years, many are still unaccounted for more than a decade later.
The tragedy did not end in Chibok. In 2018, terrorists abducted more than 100 schoolgirls from Dapchi in Yobe State. Most were later released, but Leah Sharibu remains in captivity after reportedly refusing to renounce her Christian faith.
Beyond these globally recognised cases, several other mass abductions continue to haunt affected communities. In recent years, students were kidnapped from Government Science College, Kagara in Niger State; Greenfield University in Kaduna State; Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri in Kebbi State; Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna; and schools in Kuriga, Kaduna State. While many victims eventually regained freedom through military operations, negotiations or ransom payments, others remain missing or their whereabouts unknown.
Fresh concerns have also emerged over recent attacks in the North-East, where reports indicate that dozens of children abducted during coordinated assaults in Borno State are still unaccounted for despite ongoing security operations.
The pattern raises uncomfortable questions about Nigeria’s response to mass kidnappings. Why do some cases receive swift and sustained security attention while others gradually disappear from public discourse? What support exists for families whose children remain in captivity long after media headlines fade?
Security analysts argue that the country needs a comprehensive national missing-persons database, stronger intelligence-led rescue operations, improved protection for schools, and sustained public accountability on unresolved kidnapping cases.
The Oyo rescue deserves commendation. It proves that successful rescue missions are possible. But the real measure of Nigeria’s commitment will not be the celebration of one operation—it will be the determination to ensure that every missing child receives the same urgency, regardless of where they were abducted or how long they have been missing.
Until then, every successful rescue will continue to remind Nigerians of the children who are still waiting to come home.
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