The Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu, has dispatched additional detectives from Force Headquarters in Abuja to join the joint security team in Oyo State, intensifying efforts to secure the release of teachers and students abducted from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area.
Read more: Oyo Abduction: Police Step Up Rescue Efforts Amid Growing Public AnxietyA senior police source told The PUNCH in Ibadan on Tuesday that the deployment aims to ensure the victims are rescued unharmed. More detectives have been deployed from Force Headquarters to collaborate with the security operatives already on the ground. The government and relevant agencies are leaving no stone unturned to ensure the safe return of the kidnapped students and teachers, the source said. There is no cause for alarm—the government is on top of the situation.
On Friday at around 9:30am, coordinated attacks led to the abduction of numerous teachers and students from Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School; and L.A. Primary School, Esiele, all in Oriire LGA. Governor Seyi Makinde confirmed that seven students were taken from Community Secondary School, while 18 children and seven teachers were kidnapped from First Baptist Primary and Nursery School. One person was killed during the attack.
The incident has sparked widespread fear in Ogbomoso, with rumours of bandit invasions causing parents to rush to schools to retrieve their children and prompting some schools to close abruptly. There were also unsubstantiated reports of bandits infiltrating Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH). Kazeem Abdullah, a resident, recounted how students in both public and private schools fled their classrooms, jumping through windows in panic. He noted, “Many parents compounded the problem as they rushed to pick up their children.”
Similar unrest was reported in Ajaawa, headquarters of Ogo-Oluwa LGA, where bandits were said to be disturbing the peace.
However, the Oyo State Police Command dismissed the alleged bandit infiltration in Ogbomoso as a false alarm. Police spokesperson Olayinka Ayanlade explained that the panic originated from students’ claims of seeing unfamiliar faces near a school fence. Investigations revealed the individuals were an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) from Kwara State and two civilians who had only come to visit a friend for her birthday. During police questioning, an altercation between teachers and the visitors further heightened suspicion, leading to the spread of rumours and escalating tension.
The police have since increased patrols and visibility in the affected communities and engaged stakeholders to reassure residents. “The area remains peaceful, and normal activities have resumed,” the statement said, warning against the spread of fake news and misinformation that could incite unnecessary panic.
Similarly, LAUTECH’s management dismissed rumours of a shutdown due to security concerns. Registrar Olayinka Balogun clarified, “There is no reason for management to shut down the university. The institution remains in session, and students are currently writing their examinations.”
Meanwhile, traditional rulers from the five local government areas of Ogbomosoland have called for the establishment of a military base in Oriire LGA to counter rising insecurity. The Alapa of Apa, Akin Akintola, speaking on behalf of the monarchs, urged immediate federal intervention. “We are demanding the establishment of a military formation close to the forest reserve in Oriire LGA. The police alone cannot handle the scale of these attacks. A military base will provide broader protection,” he said.
The monarchs appealed directly to President Bola Tinubu to approve the military base, citing rising fear among farmers and rural dwellers who can no longer work or sleep peacefully due to the threat of banditry—once considered a northern phenomenon but now spreading into the South-West. “Lives have been lost. Families are in agony, and many victims remain in captivity. With elections approaching, displaced people may not be able to vote,” Akintola warned.
The Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) also called on South-West governors to authorise and equip local security groups to confront armed gangs. OPC President Wasiu Afolabi criticised political leaders for inaction despite repeated warnings and condemned the kidnapping and killing of Yoruba people. “We urge the government to permit and equip the OPC and other groups to confront terrorists and end insecurity being imported from the North,” Afolabi said. He stressed that delays would only allow armed groups to expand their influence and called for the urgent creation of state police and collaboration between all local security outfits and government forces.
Activist Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, echoed these sentiments, declaring readiness to lead efforts to flush out marauders from South-West forests. He called on traditional rulers to press government authorities for swift approval of the Iru Ekun Security Network. “We are battle-ready to storm the forests and flush out those making life miserable for our people,” he said.
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) also condemned the abductions and the killing of teacher Michael Oyedokun. In a statement, PFN National President Francis Oke described the attacks as evidence of a deepening national security crisis and a failure of government responsibility. “Each new incident is an indictment of the Federal Government and exposes the failure of those assurances,” Oke said. “Our hearts are bleeding. The video of Mr Oyedokun’s murder is a sacrilege against life and a direct attack on the future of our nation.
PFN called the attack a national disgrace and a shattering of the social contract between state and citizen. We are past the time for promises. What we want are actions that will sweep away insurgency, Oke stated. The organisation reiterated its warnings that unchecked banditry and kidnapping would spread nationwide, noting that the violence once limited to the North now threatens every region, including the South-West.
