The leader of the group of abductors responsible for the abduction of students and teachers in Oriire local government is a Northerner who was born in Ogbomoso and grew up in Oriire area.
This was revealed on Monday by multiple security sources quoted by The Nation newspaper.
“It is possible that he ran from Kogi when the heat was turned on them before moving to the kidnap of soft targets in Oriire and environment which he is familiar with having spent his early life there,” one of the security official said.
“The forest outside oriire where the abductors are keeping their victims is a large one stretching from the Oyo National Park unto Kainji in Niger State.
“It is a tick forest. Through surveillance and intelligence-driven security, we are aware of their location”, the security source added.
Meanwhile, security officials also confirmed that they have intensified their surveillance on the forest where the abducted pupils and teachers from are held by their Ansaru terrorists.
Because of the condoning off of the forest, the abductors are under intense pressure which has now made them to relax their demands, it was gathered.
Security sources said they might have dropped their initial demands for the release of their jailed leaders and now asking for ransom and freedom for some foot soldiers of the group who are under arrest and in the Department of State Service (DSS) custody.
Leaders of Ansaru whose release was demanded are: Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a or Abbas Mukhtar, and his deputy, Abubakar Abba, alias Isah Adam or Mahmud Al-Nigeri.
“The terrorists are no longer insisting on the release of two of their leaders in jail. They are asking of release of less important members of their group under arrest and some ransom,” the security source explained.
According to him, as it is, there is hope that the 39 pupils and six teachers (the seventh teacher was beheaded), they will very soon be out of captivity, the security source assured.
