The Nigerian Army has taken over the Old Oyo National Park in Oyo State as a training ground following the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area.
The General Officer Commanding, 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Major-General Auwalu Mahmuda, disclosed this on Wednesday when he received members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Oyo State Council, at the division’s headquarters in Ibadan.
Mahmuda said the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Waidi Shuaibu, directed the 2 Division to use the park as a training site following the successful rescue of the Oriire victims.
He said the move aimed to prevent kidnappers and other criminals from using the vast forest as a hideout.
“The park has been taken over by the Army and is now being used as a training ground,” Mahmuda said.
The Oriire victims were abducted on May 15, 2026, and were rescued on July 10 after a sustained military operation in the Old Oyo National Park and surrounding areas.
The military said the operation involved personnel from several security agencies and local security groups, while troops tracked the kidnappers through the dense forest.
Mahmuda said the Army’s presence in the park would make it more difficult for criminal elements to establish hideouts or use the area as a base for their activities.
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