Published by Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Christian Association of Nigeria has launched a blistering condemnation of the abduction of schoolchildren, teachers and school officials during coordinated attacks on schools in Ahoro‑Esinele and Yawota communities in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, warning that the growing spread of organised criminal violence now poses a grave threat to national stability. In a statement issued on Monday, May 18, 2026, CAN President Archbishop Daniel Okoh described the attacks as a horrifying collapse of security and an assault on the conscience of the nation. According to him, the invasion of schools by armed criminals in broad daylight and the abduction of innocent children underscored the worsening insecurity confronting the country. “When children are hunted in their classrooms, silence becomes complicity and delay becomes dangerous,” Okoh stated.
The Christian body expressed outrage that armed attackers allegedly stormed multiple schools, terrorised communities, killed innocent residents and abducted dozens of pupils and teachers. “This is not merely another security incident. It is a national disgrace and a frightening reminder that organised criminal violence is spreading into parts of the country once considered relatively secure,” he said. CAN also mourned the reported killing of an assistant headmaster who reportedly attempted to protect the pupils during the attack, alongside other victims caught in the violence. “Their sacrifice must never be forgotten, and those responsible must be identified, apprehended and prosecuted without hesitation,” the statement added.
On Friday, May 15, 2026, around 9:30 a.m., heavily armed gunmen on motorcycles launched a brazen assault on three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State: Baptist Nursery and Primary School in Yawota, Community Grammar School in Ahoro‑Esinele, and L.A. Primary School in the same community. The attackers, believed to be bandits fleeing military pressure in the North‑West, opened fire indiscriminately, killing the assistant headmaster, Mr. Adesiyan, and a commercial motorcyclist who resisted attempts to seize his motorcycle. They then abducted the principal of Community High School, Mrs. Rachael Alamu, two vice principals, several teachers, and an estimated 46 pupils, marching them into the dense forest of the Old Oyo National Park. Among the abducted were the vice principal Mrs. Alamu Folawe, teachers Mr. Ojo Jonathan, Mr. Olatunde Zacchaeus, Mr. John Olaleye, Mr. Michael Oyedokun, Mrs. Oladeji, and Mary Alanbi from Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School. The pupils, aged between two and 16 years, included Rashida Tajudeen, Ahmed Ramoni, Badsalam Toyib, Baraka Abioye, Fatimo Jimoh, Hassan Azeez, and Joshua Adeleke from Ahoro‑Esinele, and Samuel Oyedele, Emmanuel Oyedele, Idowu Taiwo, and Christianah Akanbi from Yawota, among many others.
On Sunday, May 17, the kidnappers released a video showing the principal, Mrs. Alamu, and a teacher, Temitope Mary Dahunsi, pleading for help. Another video surfaced showing the beheading of a mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, who was tied up and forced to speak before being killed. The video quickly went viral, sparking outrage and intensifying calls for urgent action. Governor Seyi Makinde confirmed that seven teachers had been abducted and that one of them, the mathematics teacher, had been killed in captivity. Makinde said the government had launched a sweeping security crackdown, deploying a joint task force comprising the military, police, Amotekun Corps, local hunters and intelligence agencies. He disclosed that security operatives suffered casualties after encountering improvised explosive devices planted by the attackers, adding that six suspects had been arrested within the locality, believed to be informants or logistics suppliers for the kidnappers, and that three other persons of interest had also been taken into custody.
The Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, disclosed that the suspected kidnappers had been effectively confined within a section of the Old Oyo National Park following coordinated security operations aimed at blocking escape routes into neighbouring states. CAN urged authorities to strengthen security around schools and vulnerable rural communities, insisting that safe school initiatives must go beyond policy declarations to practical implementation. As of Monday evening, the abducted victims remained in captivity, and the search continued. The Oyo State Government announced that it would commence daily press briefings to update residents on rescue efforts.
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