Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, yesterday, declared his preparedness to make any sacrifice, including risking his own life, to secure the release of pupils and teachers abducted by gunmen in Oriire Local Council of the state.

The governor made the declaration while addressing a group of peaceful protesters led by activist and social commentator, Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), at his Ikolaba residence in Ibadan.

This was as Ondo State Government inaugurated a 17-man steering committee for the Safe Schools Programme, a federal initiative designed to protect students and educators from attacks, kidnapping and hazards across educational institutions in the state.

However, the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) has dissociated from suspects arrested in connection with the abduction of three relatives of former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, even as it called on security agencies to deploy the same urgency that secured the victims’ release towards rescuing the abducted pupils and teachers of Oriire Elementary School in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

Makinde, who acknowledged the concerns raised by the protesters over the continued captivity of the victims, said his administration was deploying every available resource to ensure their safe return, while maintaining that ongoing security operations were being carefully coordinated to minimise casualties.