Why Oyo’s rescue model can’t be replicated in the North – Ex-DSS Assistant Director-General

A former Assistant Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mohammed Ngoshe, has said the intelligence-led operation that secured the release of abducted pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State cannot be replicated in every kidnapping case because each security operation presents different challenges.
Ngoshe stated this on Wednesday, July 15, during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief while responding to questions over why similar rescue operations had not been recorded in states such as Borno, Plateau and Benue, where kidnappings and attacks have persisted. He urged Nigerians to have greater confidence in security agencies, saying many successful operations never become public knowledge.
 

“Nigerians, please, you should learn to trust your servicemen. These people are working hard and they are achieving successes in their own way,” he said. “For every successful operation that you see, more than five to 10 such operations must have been foiled. These are no easy successes to achieve.”
 

The retired DSS officer said the circumstances surrounding the Oriire abduction were different from those in conflict-prone areas such as Borno.
 

“Every case, every security operation, has its own dynamics. What happened in Oriire might not be the same as what is happening in Borno,” he said.
 

He also attributed the recurring violence in Plateau State largely to cycles of reprisal attacks between communities, saying such conflicts require different security responses. Defending the secrecy surrounding the Oriire operation, Ngoshe said intelligence missions could not be conducted in the public eye.
 

“It is not an operation that is supposed to be carried out on the pages of newspapers or on the radio or television stations,” he said.
 

He disclosed that the abductors had initially demanded the release of detained Ansaru leaders but later opened negotiations after security agencies intensified pressure on the group.
According to him, operatives arrested key collaborators and cut off the kidnappers’ access to food, weapons and intelligence, leaving them with little choice but to surrender.
 

“They were denied access to food. They were denied access to weapons. Their informants were taken out and used as assets. They saw that they had no option other than to surrender,” he said.
 

The retired intelligence officer also appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience and support security agencies, stressing that rescue operations require time, strategy and public cooperation rather than pressure for instant results.
His comments come days after the federal government announced the rescue of all pupils and teachers abducted from Community High School, Oriire, Oyo State, following a 56-day intelligence-led operation. The victims have since been reunited with their families after receiving medical treatment and psychosocial support.