Terrorists abduct 45 schoolchildren in Oyo State

​IBADAN — While Nigerian politicians on Friday remained occupied with the upcoming election cycle, terrorists extended their reach into the South West, kidnapping 45 schoolchildren in broad daylight.

​The coordinated assault targeted three schools in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State: Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School, Esiele; and L.A. Primary School.

​Sunday PUNCH gathered that tension is mounting across the state following the incident. In response, security agencies have cordoned off potential escape routes after the assailants fled into a nearby forest reserve bordering Oriire and the Old Oyo National Park axis.

​Eyewitness accounts of the attack

​Elizabeth Olagoke, a teacher at Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, recalled the terror of the morning.

​“The terrorists arrived around 8:00 AM just as the morning session began,” Olagoke said. “They came on six motorcycles, with two passengers on each. They started shooting sporadically, causing instant pandemonium. I heard them shouting in Yoruba, ‘E ya wolé’ (come in). They also spoke Hausa and Pidgin English.”

​She noted that the attackers were masked young men dressed in military camouflage who approached from the Esiele area, operating for roughly seven minutes.

​“They entered my classroom first and seized me along with a two-year-old girl I was holding,” she continued. “I pleaded with them, and one of them agreed to let me go. I ran, even as some chased after me. There were about 20 children in my kindergarten class.”

​According to Olagoke, the abducted children were drawn from three neighboring communities: eight from Yawota, 20 from Esiele, and five from Alausa. A teacher was also taken.

​“In total, they abducted about 48 persons,” Olagoke added. “The terrorists also stole my husband’s motorcycle parked at the school, killed another motorcyclist to snatch his bike, and took a third. They drove the schoolchildren away on the motorcycles. It was a terrifying situation; I am still in shock.”

​While the traditional ruler of the community, the Eleshi Ele of Esiele, Oba Tajudeen Abioye, confirmed that 45 pupils were abducted and noted that rescue efforts were underway, conflicting figures emerged from other local stakeholders.

​Bamigboye Abidoye, a former lawmaker representing the Oriire Constituency who visited the scene, claimed that 36 pupils were taken from the Baptist Nursery and Primary School alone, adding that “about five teachers were also abducted from the secondary school.”

​A senior security operative confirmed that three suspects were arrested on Friday in Esiele in connection with the incident. They have since been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).

​“Investigation is ongoing, and the public is assured that the schoolchildren and the principal will be rescued unhurt,” the operative stated.

​Heartbroken mothers cry out for help

​Sunday PUNCH spoke with several distraught parents grappling with the sudden disappearance of their children.

​Ajarah Ayanwale revealed that the terrorists initially deceived residents by wearing military uniforms, leading locals to believe they were security personnel deployed for their protection.

​“We saw them in army uniforms in the morning and thought they were here to protect us,” Ayanwale said, fighting back tears. “Some of us were even thanking God for a security presence. But minutes later, gunshots rang out. We ran helter-skelter, terrified for our children.”

​Ayanwale’s seven-year-old son in Primary 1 was taken, though her four-year-old managed to escape. She noted that children were snatched from Yawota, Esiele, Alausa, and the nearby Ohunya village.

​“It was only when we returned home that we realized they were gone. We were told they took them away in a car and on motorcycles. The government must help us,” she pleaded.

​Another mother, Shukurat Pius, whose five-year-old son, Stephen, was taken, noted that residents had observed suspicious motorcycle movements just before the gunfire began.

​“Some of the older schoolchildren escaped through windows, but the little ones who couldn’t run were seized,” Pius said. “They forced some onto the motorcycles and marched the rest into the forest on foot. I want my child alive.”

​For Nafisat Agunle, the disappearance of her eight-year-old son in Primary 2 has left her paralyzed with grief.

​“We heard gunshots between 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM. When I rushed to the school and later back home, I couldn’t find him,” Agunle lamented. “I haven’t slept, eaten, or bathed since. This is the first time such an incident has occurred here. Our hearts are heavy.”

​Adijat Ibrahim, whose punctual nine-year-old son, Muhammed, left for school at 7:00 AM, described arriving at an empty, tense school compound after the gunfire ceased.

​“I keep feeling like my son will just walk through the door,” she said. “The government must help us rescue them.”

​In Esiele, Serah Oguntunde recounted watching helplessly as the terrorists fled with her 13-year-old daughter, Hanah Ojo, a JSS 1 pupil. Oguntunde was heading to her farm when the gunfire erupted.

​“Minutes later, we saw the gunmen in a car with about eight schoolchildren at Alausa,” Oguntunde said. “The vehicle belonged to the school principal, who had also been abducted and forced to drive. The car was later found set ablaze. This is devastating.”

​Selimat Abadi lost two children in the sweep—aged eight and five. “About 20 parents gathered at the school afterward, and none of us went home with our children,” she said.

​Gabriel Sunday shared a similar tragedy; only one of his three children made it home. His six-year-old son, Jacob, and four-year-old daughter, Mary, were captured.

​“My son who escaped said he ran through the bush when the terrorists started grabbing his classmates,” Sunday said.

​Southwest being targeted, warns Gani Adams

​Reacting to the assault, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland and National Coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Iba Gani Adams, warned that bandits and terrorists have heavily infiltrated the South West.

​Adams cautioned that recent security breaches in Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, and Oyo states are preliminary maneuvers.

​“The terrorists are just testing the waters,” Adams said. “Their strategy right now is to launch small, covert hit-and-run attacks so they don’t expose their full strength. The only way to combat this is to engage local security groups who know the terrain.”

​He lamented that the OPC and other local vigilantes are hamstrung by a lack of official government approval to carry arms and operate fully.

​“I have learned my lessons from past experiences where we faced legal trouble for intervening without authorization,” Adams explained. “Unless the South West governors establish state police or formally partner with relevant local security groups at the local government level, this insecurity will persist.”

​Security forces seal escape routes

​The Oyo State Government announced that the suspected kidnappers have been successfully contained within the Old Oyo National Park axis.

​The State Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, confirmed that a joint task force comprising the Nigerian Army, Civil Defence Agro Rangers, and the Nigeria Police Force Monitoring Unit had surrounded the area.

​Oyelade stated that Oyo State Police Commissioner Ayodeji Abimbola is coordinating the operation alongside his Kwara State counterpart to prevent the suspects from crossing state boundaries.

​Patrol operations intensified on Saturday using Amotekun operatives and local hunters drawn from seven local government areas in Oke-Ogun, moving through Igbeti toward Oloka. However, Oyelade admitted that exact tracking has been complicated by a lack of precise records from the affected schools.

​“School authorities have yet to provide accurate records of the missing children, which makes the rescue operation more difficult,” Oyelade said. “Our current focus is locating their exact position and applying tactical pressure.”

​Regional neighbors beef up security

​The bold attack has triggered an immediate security upgrade across the entire South West region:

• ​Ondo State: Amotekun Commander Akogun Adetunji Adeleye announced that border patrols have transitioned into a 24-hour operation, with plain-clothes officers and Amotekun Rangers deployed to secure vulnerable forests and schools. Police spokesperson Abayomi Jimoh added that tactical and anti-kidnapping squads have been sent to known flashpoints.
• ​Osun State: Samuel Ojo, Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, termed the abduction “disturbing” and confirmed that the state has ordered immediate border closures and heightened surveillance along its boundaries.
• ​Ogun State: Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, stated that security forces are actively combing state forests, noting a recent engagement where several suspected kidnappers were either killed or arrested.
• ​Ekiti State: Commissioner for Information Taiwo Olatunbosun highlighted the state’s ongoing “Safe School Project,” noting that most schools are fenced and monitored via real-time security technology, alongside continuous intelligence sharing with traditional rulers.
• ​Lagos State: Gboyega Akosile, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, reassured residents that the state’s security architecture is robust enough to prevent breaches, while urging citizens to remain vigilant.

​Concurrently, Seye Oyeleye, the Director-General of the Dawn Commission, assured the public that regional stakeholders are working collaboratively behind the scenes. “A lot is going on underground to rescue these children and ensure an incident like this does not happen again,” Oyeleye said.