Rumours of Bandit Attacks Made Oyo Parents Storm School, Drag Children Out By Force

Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.

Panic swept through a community in Oyo State on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, as frightened parents stormed Ijeru Baptist Basic School I and III, forcefully withdrawing their children over unverified rumours that armed bandits were attacking villages near the Ajawa axis. The chaotic scenes erupted around midday, with parents forcing open the school gates and rushing into classrooms to retrieve their children, disregarding repeated assurances from school authorities and teachers who had contacted the police. A community source who witnessed the incident told reporters that the panic stemmed from unverified claims linking nearby violence to suspected bandit activity. According to the source, the parents stormed the school, forced the gate open, and began taking their children away by force, ignoring the teachers who came out saying they had contacted the police command within that district and were told the violence actually involved a fight between Fulani herders and farmers, not a bandit invasion. The information they heard was that bandits were around Ajawa, which was not true, the source added.

Videos and photographs obtained from the scene captured the raw anxiety of the moment, showing anxious parents rushing into the school premises, forcing open the gates and hurriedly taking their children away amid fear and confusion. For a community already on edge, the rumours were enough to trigger a full-scale evacuation, demonstrating how deeply the recent school attacks have traumatised rural Oyo. The panic at Ijeru Baptist Basic School disrupted academic activities, as many pupils were hurriedly withdrawn from classes by anxious parents and guardians. The development comes amid heightened tension and fear in parts of Oyo State, following a recent attack and the abduction of teachers and pupils from schools in the Ogbomoso axis. Just four days earlier, on Friday, May 15, heavily armed gunmen had invaded schools in the Ahoro‑Esinele axis of Oriire Local Government Area, including Community High School in Ahoro‑Esinele, Baptist Nursery and Primary School in Yawota, and L.A. Primary School in Esiele, abducting pupils, students, and teachers, including the principal of Community High School, Mrs. Rachael Alamu.

The trauma of that attack has refused to fade. One of the teachers kidnapped alongside Mrs. Alamu, Michael Oyedokun, was reportedly beheaded in a new video allegedly released by bandits on Sunday. The viral footage showed the teacher tied up, forced to speak, and then gruesomely executed. Residents noted that fear of further school attacks has continued to spread across several communities, especially after multiple videos surfaced online showing abducted teachers pleading for government intervention from captivity. The horrifying video has circulated widely on social media, amplifying the sense of vulnerability across the state and making parents hyper‑sensitive to any hint of new danger.

The rumours that sparked Tuesday's panic were specific and terrifying. Reports spread quickly that armed bandits had invaded communities around the Ajawa axis, triggering fear and confusion among residents. Teachers at Ijeru Baptist Basic School attempted to calm the situation after contacting security operatives within the area. The teachers came out saying they had contacted the police command within that district and were told the violence had to do with a fight between Fulani people and farmers there, the source said. But the parents were not convinced. In their minds, the distinction between a herder‑farmer clash and a bandit attack was irrelevant; any violence near their children's school was a reason to flee first and ask questions later.

The panic in Ijeru on Tuesday was not an isolated incident. Earlier on the same day, residents of Yawota community in the Oriire Local Government Area had already fled their homes following fears of another attack by bandits after the recent abduction of pupils and teachers in the area. The attack on May 15 triggered panic across nearby communities, forcing many residents to reportedly relocate to safer areas over fears that the gunmen could strike again. Residents who spoke on the latest development said movement out of Yawota community increased after rumours spread that the attackers might return to the area. The fear of another invasion has reportedly disrupted normal activities in the community as some residents abandoned homes and businesses in search of safer locations. Community members appealed to security agencies and the Oyo State government to deploy more security personnel to the affected communities to prevent further attacks and reassure residents.

The combined effect has been a paralysis of normal life across several rural communities in Oyo State. Schools that remained open after the May 15 attack are now facing the prospect of empty classrooms as parents keep their children at home. The Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board subsequently ordered the temporary closure of schools in Oriire LGA and neighbouring areas as rescue operations intensified. Governor Seyi Makinde has confirmed the abduction of seven teachers following the deadly attack by suspected terrorists and bandits on Community High School, while the exact number of pupils taken was still being verified due to the confusion that followed the attack. Community sources have disclosed that no fewer than 46 persons were abducted during the attack, including seven teachers and 39 students, among them a two‑year‑old girl identified as Christianah Akanbi.

The security response has been robust but faces immense challenges. Security operatives in Oyo State have arrested six persons suspected of aiding the gunmen behind the deadly abduction of schoolchildren and the killing of teachers, including an okada rider during the assault. The Oyo State Government announced joint rescue efforts involving security agencies, Amotekun operatives, and local hunters. Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Dotun Oyelade, said surveillance and patrol operations had been strengthened to prevent the attackers from escaping through forest routes linked to the Old Oyo National Park, an area security analysts have increasingly described as vulnerable due to difficult terrain and weak security presence. The attackers reportedly marched the victims into forest corridors linked to the national park, complicating rescue efforts.

But for the parents of Ijeru Baptist Basic School, and for thousands of other parents across Oyo State, these assurances offer little comfort. The events of Tuesday, May 19, demonstrated that the greatest weapon wielded by bandits may no longer be their rifles but the fear they have planted in the hearts of parents. In the absence of reliable information and a visible security presence, rumours travel faster than bullets, and the results can be just as devastating. Academic activities at Ijeru Baptist Basic School were disrupted, and it remains unclear how many of the forcibly withdrawn pupils will return to their classrooms in the days ahead.

President Bola Tinubu has ordered a full‑scale manhunt and vowed that the bandits and all their local collaborators will be fished out and made to face the full wrath of the law. He also stressed that cases of kidnapping further make imperative the establishment of state police to man some of our underserved areas. But for the frightened parents who stormed a school gate on Tuesday, those words ring hollow. They have seen a teacher beheaded. They have watched videos of abducted colleagues pleading for their lives. And now, every rumour of violence feels like the next tragedy waiting to happen. Until the gunmen are caught and schools are made visibly safe, the children of rural Oyo will continue to be withdrawn at the faintest whisper of danger.

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