By David AFOLABI
Nigeria Police Force say that there is no escape for abductors of teachers and pupils of a school in Oriree-Oyo as their hideout have been surrounded by their men.
The kidnappers have been holding their victims in the bush of the Old Oyo Forest for more than 40 days.
Police say the forest has been cordoned off, and the abductors are under intense pressure, which has now made them relax their demands, it was gathered.
Security sources said they have dropped their initial demands for the release of their jailed leaders and are 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.
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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 from 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) will very soon be out of captivity, the security source assured.
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“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 the environment which he is familiar with, having spent his early life there,” the security official added.
The forest outside Oriire, where the abductors are keeping their victims, is a large one stretching from the Oyo National Park to Kainji in Niger State.
“It is a tick forest. Through surveillance and intelligence-driven security, we are aware of their location”, the security source said.
