IBADAN, Nigeria — Police in southwestern Nigeria have launched a massive air and ground rescue operation after heavily armed gunmen launched simultaneous raids on schools and communities, killing a teacher and taking several pupils hostage.
The coordinated assault took place in the early hours of Friday in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
A gang of armed men riding motorcycles stormed the Baptist Nursery and Primary School in Yawota, while a separate detachment attacked a shared campus housing the Community Grammar School and L.A. Primary School in nearby Esiele.
Casualties and Abductions
Police confirmed that an assistant headmaster, identified as Mr Adesiyan, was shot dead during the chaos. A local commercial motorcyclist was also killed after trying to prevent the gunmen from stealing his vehicle.
Among those confirmed abducted is Mrs. Alamu Folawe, a school vice-principal.
“The attackers, after abducting some victims, also took away a Toyota Corolla vehicle belonging to the abducted vice principal,” said state police spokesperson DSP Ayanlade Olayinka. The vehicle was later found burnt out on a dirt track leading deep into a nearby forest.
While authorities confirmed that several pupils, students, and staff members were marched into the bush, they stated that no children have been reported killed.
Tactical Teams Deployed
The state’s Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Ayodeji Olugbenga, has relocated to the area alongside military commanders to oversee the tracking operation.
The police command stated that:
- Tactical units and intelligence assets have been pushed into the border forests.
- Security cordons have been thrown around neighbouring communities to prevent further incursions.
- Community leaders are being engaged to help gather actionable intelligence.
A Growing Threat
Mass kidnappings targeting schools have historically been concentrated in Nigeria’s northwest and central regions. However, this brazen daylight raid in Oyo State underscores how the country’s multi-billion-naira kidnapping-for-ransom crisis is increasingly encroaching on more stable southwestern territories.
The state government has urged calm, promising that security agencies will not rest until all the abducted children and staff are safely returned to their families.
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