Former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has declared that he would have personally led efforts to flush out kidnappers holding abducted schoolchildren and teachers in the Oriire area of Oyo State if he were Nigeria’s president.
Speaking during an interview on State of the Nation with Peter Obi on Afia TV’s Eastern Eye, hosted by Alex Ogbodo and aired live on Thursday, Obi said decisive leadership was essential in confronting insecurity, insisting he would not have allowed the victims to remain in captivity for weeks.
The Oriire kidnapping occurred on May 15, 2026, when dozens of pupils and teachers were abducted in Oyo State.
The victims regained their freedom after spending about 56 days in captivity following a security operation in July.
Reacting to the incident, Obi criticised President Bola Tinubu’s handling of the crisis, alleging that the president failed to personally contact Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde throughout the prolonged ordeal.
According to Obi, a swift and forceful response would have been his priority.
“Days of kidnap of Oyo children. The President did not call the governor. What do you mean? Fifty days,” he said.
“But I’ll be there in two days. Is the bush not in Nigeria? That bush they went in. The bush is in Nigeria.
“Everybody in that bush will come out. Everybody. There might be casualties but everybody will come out.”
The former governor also criticised what he described as the lack of transparency in Nigeria’s security operations, arguing that authorities should publicly present arrested criminal suspects to reassure citizens that justice is being served.
“And it is time when we say we resolve something. We arrest some people. Parade the people. Let people see them. What is happening?
“When America or other countries kill people like that, they parade them. They show it. Everybody sees it.
“In Nigeria, everything is shrouded in secrecy,” he stated.
Obi also reflected on his tenure as governor of Anambra State, recalling that he took direct action against criminal hideouts located in forests after consulting then-President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He said he informed the former president that one particular forest had become a major security threat and insisted that criminal elements operating from the area had to be dislodged.
The former governor further claimed that several notorious criminals were neutralised during security operations carried out in Anambra while he was in office.
Emphasising the need for strong leadership in tackling insecurity, Obi maintained that responsibility must rest with one person and that leaders must be willing to make personal sacrifices.
“No way. It’s either I’m in charge or you people are in charge. I go home. One person must be in charge.
“And if you’re in charge, if you want to lead, you should be ready to die. If you don’t want to, you go home. One must be in charge,” he said.
