Presidency rejects comparison between rescue of Adelabu's relatives and Ogbomoso abduction

The Presidency on Sunday, June 7, rejected attempts to compare the recent rescue of relatives of former Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu with the ongoing abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Ogbomoso, arguing that the two incidents present fundamentally different security challenges.

Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, stated that critics drawing parallels between the two cases are ignoring the distinct nature of the crimes and the operational realities involved in responding to them. In a Facebook post, Ajayi said it was wrong to equate the kidnapping of Adelabu's sister and her twin sons with the mass abduction of schoolchildren and teachers by armed terrorists.

According to Ajayi, the kidnapping of Adelabu's relatives was carried out by an urban criminal gang engaged in copycat abductions for financial gain, while the Ogbomoso incident involved terrorists operating from remote forest locations. He said it is wrong to compare an urban gang of kidnappers who hide victims inside a flat within the community to a band of terrorists operating deep inside the bush, as the two sets of criminals have different motivations and agendas.

The presidential aide also rejected claims that security agencies were prioritising one set of victims.