No fewer than 45 pupils have been reported abducted during the Friday attack on three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The schools attacked were Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School, Esiele; and L.A. Primary School.
The Newsmen gathered that tension is rising in the state following the incident.
Security agencies are also said to have surrounded the possible escape routes of the assailants after they fled into a nearby forest reserve bordering Oriire communities and the Old Oyo National Park axis.
A teacher at Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Elizabeth Olagoke, told one of our correspondents that the kidnappers spoke Yoruba, Hausa, and Pidgin English.
She said, “The terrorists came around 8am. We had all started the morning session. They came on six motorcycles, and there were two passengers on each bike.
“I heard them saying, ‘E ya wolé’ (come in). They started shooting sporadically, and there was pandemonium. The terrorists were speaking Yoruba, Hausa, and Pidgin English.
“They were all masked and dressed in camouflage, and they were young men. They came from the Esinele area. They operated for about seven minutes.
“They entered my classroom first and seized me and a two-year-old girl I was carrying. I pleaded with them, and one of them said they should let me go.
“I started running, and some of them even chased after me. I had about 20 children in my kindergarten class. The schoolchildren are from three communities: Yawota, Esinele, and Alausa. The abducted schoolchildren are: eight from Yawota, 20 from Esinele, and five from Alausa. They also kidnapped a teacher. In all, they abducted about 48 persons.
“The terrorists stole my husband’s motorcycle, which he had parked at my school. They also killed a motorcyclist and snatched his bike. The total number of motorcycles stolen in Yawota is three. They took away the schoolchildren on motorcycles. It was a terrifying situation. I am yet to recover from the shock.”
The traditional ruler of the community, the Eleshi Ele of Esiele, Oba Tajudeen Abioye, said 45 pupils were abducted.
Oba Abioye noted that efforts were ongoing to rescue them.
A former lawmaker representing Oriire Constituency, Bamigboye Abidoye, who visited the community, said 36 pupils were abducted from Baptist Nursery and Primary School alone.
“About five teachers were also abducted from the secondary school,” he added.
The Newsmen also gathered that three suspects had been arrested in connection with the incident.
A senior security operative involved in the investigation explained that the suspects were caught on Friday in Esiele and were transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department.
“Investigation is ongoing, and the public is assured that the schoolchildren and the principal will be rescued unhurt,” he added.
Mothers bewail abductions
The Newsmen spoke to no fewer than seven parents whose children were abducted during the attack.
One of them, Ajarah Ayanwale, said the terrorists deceived residents into believing they were security operatives deployed to protect the communities.
She noted that while her seven-year-old son in Primary 1 was abducted, her four-year-old child escaped.
“We saw the kidnappers in army uniforms in the morning. We thought they were in the community to protect us. Some of us were even saying, ‘Thank God, we now have security presence in our community,’” she said, while fighting back tears.
According to Ayanwale, panic erupted moments later when gunshots rang out across the communities.
“We started hearing gunshots a few minutes later. We started running helter-skelter, and we were concerned about the safety of our children,” she said.
Ayanwale noted that the terrorists abducted children from Yawota, Esiele, Alausa, and nearby Ohunya village.
“It was when we returned home expecting our children that we realised they had been kidnapped. We were told they took away our children in a car and on motorcycles. The government should please help us rescue our children,” she pleaded.
Another mother, Shukurat Pius, said her five-year-old son, Stephen, was among the abducted pupils.
She recalled that residents initially noticed suspicious movements of motorcycles before gunshots erupted around the school.
“Some of the schoolchildren escaped through the windows, but the little ones who could not run were seized,” she said.
According to her, the gunmen forced some children onto motorcycles while others were marched into the forest on foot.
“They were put on motorcycles, and the rest of the children were marched into the forest on foot. I want my child alive. The government should help bring our children back,” she said.
For Nafisat Agunle, the pain has been unbearable since her eight-year-old son in Primary 2 disappeared during the attack.
“We were at home when we started hearing gunshots around 8am to 9am. Later, we heard gunmen had attacked the primary school,” she said.
Agunle explained that she rushed to the school and later returned home in desperate search of her child but could not find him anywhere.
“I have since been searching for him. I could not sleep, eat or bathe. This is the first time such an incident has happened in the community. Our hearts are heavy,” she lamented.
Another mother, Adijat Ibrahim, said she still believes her abducted nine-year-old son, Muhammed Ibrahim, would walk back into the house.
The woman said her son, known for always arriving early to school, left home around 7am on Friday.
“He loves punctuality,” she said.
According to her, panic engulfed the community after heavy gunshots echoed through the area.
“After everything settled, I went to the school to pick up my son, but I could not find him. The school was empty, and the atmosphere was tense,” she said.
Fighting back tears, the distressed mother added, “I keep feeling like my son will walk into the house. I love my son. The government should please help rescue the schoolchildren.”
At Esiele community, Serah Oguntunde said she watched helplessly as the terrorists fled with schoolchildren, including her 13-year-old daughter, Hanah Ojo, a JSS 1 pupil at Community Grammar School.
Oguntunde said she and others were heading for the farm when they suddenly heard gunshots and rushed back.
“About two minutes later, we saw the gunmen in a car with some schoolchildren at Alausa. They were coming from Esiele,” she recounted.
Oguntunde said the vehicle was driven by the school principal, who had also been abducted.
“The schoolchildren in the car were about eight, excluding the terrorists. The car was later set ablaze,” she said.
The woman added, “We went to the school to check for my daughter, but we could not find her. I pray they do not harm my daughter. This is devastating.”
For Selimat Abadi, the attack became even more painful because two of her children were abducted simultaneously.
One of them, Tosin, is eight years old, while the younger sibling is five.
“They both left home for school around 7am. They are serious about their education,” she said.
Abadi recalled that after the gunshots subsided, many parents gathered at the school searching frantically for their children.
“About 20 parents gathered at the school, and none of us went back home with our children. This is scary. We want our children back alive,” she said.
Another resident, Gabriel Sunday, said only one of his three children returned home after the attack.
His six-year-old son, Jacob, and four-year-old daughter, Mary, were abducted, while another child escaped through the bush.
“I was on my farm when I heard gunshots. I had to return to the community to find out what was happening,” he said.
According to him, panic had already spread across the villages by the time he arrived.
“My son who returned home said he ran through the bush after the terrorists abducted his classmates,” he said.
Sunday added that the attackers escaped through the forest reserve.
“I do not pray to lose any of my children. I want them back alive,” he said.
Southwest now target of terrorists – Gani Adams
Expressing fear over security threats in the region, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland and National Coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress, Gani Adams, raised the alarm that bandits and terrorists had infiltrated South-West states.
Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, Adams warned that recent attacks in states such as Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, and Oyo were only the beginning.
The OPC leader said the worsening insecurity across the region could only be tackled by establishing state police and strengthening collaboration between governors and local security outfits familiar with the terrain.
He lamented that local security groups such as the OPC had been unable to effectively confront kidnappers and armed criminals because they lacked government approval to operate fully and bear arms.
“There is nothing we can do without state police or government approval for the operationalisation of local security outfits. There is nothing the government can do about kidnapping and insecurity in the SouthWest because we have been seriously infiltrated. Unless we have state police or allow the relevant security groups to partner with governors at the local government level to operate, the problem of insecurity will persist.
“The governors have refused to partner and work with local security groups, and this has continued to worsen insecurity in the region. OPC and other local security groups can’t operate and carry arms without the approval of the government; we will be in trouble if we do that. And we have been calling on the governments of the SouthWest states to give us the approval to operate, but nothing has happened.
“We are currently seeking government collaboration; we cannot just intervene. I have learnt my lessons from past experience; we have had serious trouble with the government for getting involved in security without government approval,” the OPC leader said.
According to him, South-West states had become heavily infiltrated by criminal elements, warning that the situation would continue to deteriorate unless urgent action was taken.
Adams further warned that the recent attacks and abductions across states in the region were only preliminary moves by terrorist groups testing security responses.
“We have not seen anything yet. The terrorists are just testing the waters for now, invading Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, and now Oyo States. Their strategy for now is to carry out what appear to be small attacks; they don’t want to show their strength because, if they do, you will know their number and may want to crush them with your forces.
“What they are doing now is to sneak into our territories, launch attacks, kidnap and sneak out. And the only way to fight them is to engage local security groups who are familiar with the terrain and their routes,” he said.
The OPC leader expressed concern that insecurity, which had plagued parts of Northern Nigeria for years, was gradually spreading into the South-West.
Security operatives seal escape routes
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Government said suspected kidnappers involved in the Friday attack had been confined within the National Park axis.
The state Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, said security operatives had surrounded the area and restricted the suspects’ movement.
Oyelade explained that the Nigerian Army, Civil Defence Agro Rangers, and the Nigeria Police Force, with officers from the Monitoring Unit, were mobilised to commence rescue operations.
He added that the Commissioner of Police, Ayodeji Abimbola, was coordinating the rescue operation with his counterpart in Kwara State, with both commands agreeing to strengthen surveillance and ensure that any suspect attempting to cross state boundaries would be apprehended.
Oyelade noted that patrol operations commenced on Saturday after intelligence indicated that the suspects remained within the National Park in Oyo State.
He disclosed that three separate patrol teams comprising Amotekun operatives and hunters drawn from seven local government areas in Oke-Ogun were deployed through Igbeti towards Oloka and adjoining communities.
While noting that there had been no direct contact with the abductors so far, the statement said authorities were focused on establishing the exact number of pupils affected, as school authorities had yet to provide accurate records of missing children.
“This has made the rescue operation more difficult. What we are trying to do now is locate their position and apply pressure,” he said.
He also reaffirmed the state’s commitment to securing the release of all abducted victims and restoring normalcy to affected communities.
Osun, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti beef up security