Trending 
The Department of State Services (DSS) has disclosed that nine people were killed during an operation to rescue victims abducted in Oyo State.
DSS Director-General Tosin Ajayi made the disclosure in an interview published by Premium Times, explaining that security forces immediately pursued the kidnappers after receiving credible intelligence. He said a vigilante member and a police officer were killed during the initial pursuit, while more fatalities were recorded during a raid on the kidnappers’ hideout.
“Immediately after the incident happened, based on credible intelligence, troops chased them immediately, and sadly, a vigilante and a policeman were killed. During the second raid, more were killed, making a total of nine fatalities, four civilians and five security personnel,” Ajayi said.
Ajayi described the rescue operation as complex, particularly because one of the victims was a two-and-a-half-year-old child who could not escape quickly during a direct assault.
“It was a complex operation involving a two-and-a-half-year-old infant who could not run much if we invaded the place,” he said.
The DSS chief also raised concerns over misinformation shared on social media during the operation. He said some videos circulated online showing children being tortured were old footage from another country and were falsely linked to the Oyo incident.
“As expected, the rescue operation attracted a lot of social media disinformation. You have to sieve the information there,” Ajayi said.
He said some of the videos were deepfakes showing injured children and were presented as real-time footage from the operation.
Ajayi urged media organisations to strengthen fact-checking during sensitive security operations and separate verified information from false narratives.
“Recall the victims recounted how well-treated they were by the criminals. So, one of the things I’d like you to do in the media is fact-finding and separating facts from fiction,” he said.
The DSS Director-General further disclosed that the group responsible for the abduction was an international terrorist organisation with links to Al-Qaeda. He said the DSS had previously arrested leaders of the group, who were allegedly linked to the Abuja-Kaduna train attack and planning further kidnappings targeting foreigners, students, women and children.
He added that the suspects were “found complicit in the Abuja/Kaduna train attack and were planning more kidnappings of foreigners, students, women and their children on a large scale.”
According to Ajayi, the group was seeking recognition as a state and freedom to practise its religion within a designated territory.
