Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Four days after armed men disguised in military camouflage stormed three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, 25 pupils and teachers remain unaccounted for, while distraught parents and a nation that has watched this tragedy unfold are left waiting in agonizing silence. The coordinated attacks, which occurred around 9:30 am on Friday, May 15, 2026, targeted Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Community Grammar School in Ahoro-Esinele, and L.A. Primary School in Esiele, leaving behind a trail of grief, bloodshed, and unanswered questions. According to the Oyo State Police Command, twelve heavily armed men arrived on six motorcycles, with two passengers on each bike, and simultaneously invaded the schools in a well-planned operation that lasted barely seven minutes but has already claimed three lives. The attackers killed an assistant headmaster, Joel Adesiyan, who was reportedly shot dead while trying to protect pupils and escape the scene; a commercial motorcycle rider who resisted attempts to forcefully take his bike; and later, one of the abducted teachers, Michael Oyedokun, a mathematics teacher at Community High School, who was beheaded in a viral video released by his captors on Sunday, May 17.
The Oyo State Police Command has now confirmed that the attackers abducted seven students, 18 pupils and seven teachers, totaling 32 individuals, though the command's Public Relations Officer, CSP Olayinka Ayanlade, acknowledged that these figures represent only those conclusively verified. Community leaders, however, have compiled a more detailed list of 46 persons, seven teachers and 39 students, from Community High School Ahoro-Esinele and Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School, including a two-year-old toddler, Christianah Akanbi. The verified list of abducted teachers includes Mrs. Alamu Folawe, the principal of Community High School, Ahoro-Esinele; Mr. Ojo Jonathan, vice principal; Mr. Olatunde Zacchaeus; Mr. John Olaleye; Mr. Michael Oyedokun; Mrs. Oladeji; and Mary Akanbi of Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School. From Ahoro-Esinele Community, the abducted students include Rashida Tajudeen, 11; Ahmed Ramoni, 8; Abdulsalam Toyib, 4; Baraka Abioye, 16; Fatimo Jimoh, 15; Hassan Azeez, 14; and Joshua Adeleke, 13. From Yawota Community, the victims include Samuel Oyedele, 7; Emmanuel Oyedele, 4; Idowu Taiwo, 4; Christianah Akanbi, 2; Juwon Sunday, 7; Sikiru Salami, 3; Soliu Salami, 4; Ojo Joseph, 8; Lydia Adewole, 8; Testimony Jacob, 5; Kehinde Kaosara, 7; Sewa Seyi, 7; Waliya Bello, 4; Lydia Olohunloluwa, 7; Damilare Oderinde, 8; Deborah Adebowale, 5; Aisha Oguntowo, 10; Lege Taiwo, 12; Balkis Ayanwale, 8; and Asa David, 10. Additional victims were taken from Oniya Community and Alawusa Community, with the youngest among them being just two years old, a detail that has horrified the nation and left many asking how such evil could befall a classroom of toddlers.
The attackers, described by eyewitnesses as young men who communicated in Yoruba, Hausa, and Pidgin English throughout the operation, were all masked and dressed in military camouflage, a disguise that initially deceived residents into believing security personnel had finally arrived to protect them. A teacher at Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Elizabeth Olagoke, who narrowly escaped being abducted, recounted how the gunmen first entered her classroom and held her together with a two-year-old child she was carrying. "I pleaded with them, and one of them ordered that I should be released," she said, adding that the attackers attempted to pursue her as she fled from the classroom. "I had about 20 children in my class. Many of the abducted children came from Yawota, Esiele, and Alausa communities. They also kidnapped one teacher. Altogether, about 48 persons were taken away," she said. The teacher further disclosed that the assailants stole motorcycles belonging to residents during the invasion, taking her husband's motorcycle from the school premises, killing a commercial motorcyclist, and seizing his bike. In Yawota alone, they stole three motorcycles.
Another mother, Ajarah Ayanwale, told how her seven-year-old son in Primary 1 was abducted while his four-year-old brother in kindergarten somehow managed to return home. She recounted how residents initially welcomed the attackers with relief. "We thought security personnel had come to protect our communities from attacks. Some residents were even happy when they saw them entering the area," she said. "Immediately the shooting started, everybody began running in different directions. We became worried about our children who were already in school," she added. She also revealed that the attackers deceived residents into believing they were security operatives deployed to protect the communities, a tactic that allowed them to move freely before launching their assault. A parent who asked to remain anonymous described watching helplessly as the kidnappers fled with several pupils, including her 13-year-old daughter, Hannah Ojo, a JSS1 student of Community Grammar School, Esiele. According to her, the attackers moved through Alausa with schoolchildren inside a vehicle before abandoning and setting the car ablaze.
In the days following the attack, two heart-wrenching videos have surfaced online, each one adding a new layer of horror to an already unimaginable ordeal. The first video, released on Sunday, May 17, showed Mrs. Alamu Folawe, the principal of Community High School, Esiele, visibly distressed and speaking from what appeared to be a forest location. "We have been here since Friday. I am making this video to ask for help from everyone, starting from the Federal Government, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, Christian Association of Nigeria, and all well-meaning Nigerians," she pleaded. "Come to our help and settle this thing peacefully so that our lives will not be lost". The second video, which emerged shortly after, showed a nursing mother identified as Temitope, a staff member of First Baptist Church School in Ogbomosho, clutching her baby while fighting back tears. "I am Temitope, I am from Ibadan, I am working at First Baptist Church, Ogbomosho. Yesterday, the people came to our school and kidnapped both staff and students," she said, her voice breaking. "President Tinubu, help us. Our State Government, Engr Seyi Makinde, we need your help. The children are here crying. Please help us so that we will not waste our lives". The videos have circulated widely on social media, triggering emotional reactions across the nation and putting immense pressure on the Federal and State Governments to act decisively.
The Oyo State Police Command has confirmed that it has received the videos and is conducting comprehensive forensic examinations to determine their authenticity and aid ongoing investigations, rescue operations, and the identification and arrest of the perpetrators. The Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Olayinka Ayanlade, assured residents of the command's unwavering commitment to ensuring the safe return of all abducted persons. "To this end, intensive operational, intelligence-driven, and tactical efforts in collaboration with other security agencies are ongoing to secure the victims unharmed and bring all those responsible to justice," he said.
Security agencies have made some progress. On Saturday, May 16, the Oyo State Government announced that the suspected kidnappers had been effectively confined within the Old Oyo National Park axis following coordinated security operations involving the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Police Force, the Civil Defence Agro Rangers, Amotekun Corps, and local hunters. The government disclosed that all possible escape routes had been sealed to prevent the suspects from fleeing into Kwara State or across the international border with the Republic of Benin. The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, CP Abimbola Olugbenga, has communicated with his counterpart in Kwara State, with both commands agreeing to strengthen surveillance and ensure any suspect attempting to cross state boundaries would be apprehended. However, the rescue mission has come at a grievous cost. Governor Seyi Makinde confirmed that during the ongoing operation, security operatives, including soldiers, Amotekun Corps members, and local vigilantes, encountered Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted by the abductors, resulting in casualties, with one Amotekun operative remaining in critical condition and several other personnel wounded.
On Monday, May 18, Governor Makinde addressed journalists at his Ikolaba, Ibadan residence, declaring that while the state government would not surrender to terror, it was prepared to listen to the demands of the abductors to secure the safe return of the victims. "We will not give in to terror. We will do everything to ensure that our children and their teachers are returned safely," the governor stated. "Whatever it is they demand, we are ready to listen to them and address what we can as a state government. But the children and their teachers must be released timely". Makinde confirmed that seven students were abducted from Community Secondary School, while 18 children and seven teachers were kidnapped from First Baptist Primary and Nursery School in Oriire Local Government Area. He also confirmed that one of the victims was killed during the attack, noting that rescue operations were still ongoing and describing the situation as "fluid and difficult" for security operatives on the ground.
President Bola Tinubu has also weighed in, condemning the reported killing of Michael Oyedokun as barbaric and assuring that security operatives are working around the clock to rescue the victims and apprehend the bandits and their collaborators within the community. In a statement issued by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, the President said, "I am saddened by the reported killing of one of the teachers kidnapped by the gunmen who invaded the community. I sympathise with Governor Seyi Makinde and commend the steps he has taken on the matter. I sympathise with the families of the kidnapped victims". He further disclosed that the Inspector-General of Police, following his instructions, was personally leading a technology-driven operation and that a breakthrough was expected soon. President Tinubu also renewed his call for the establishment of state police, stating that "cases of kidnapping further make imperative the establishment of state police to man some of our underserved areas".
One of the most significant breakthroughs came on Tuesday, May 19, when the Oyo State Police Command disclosed that investigators had traced the suspects through telephone conversations believed to have been exchanged with the bandits during and after the operation. The conversations allegedly contained details on how the criminals could successfully navigate routes within the National Park to hidden locations used as safe havens. This led to the arrest of no fewer than six suspects, who are currently in police custody and assisting security agencies with ongoing investigations. CSP Olayinka Ayanlade confirmed that preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects allegedly served as informants to the bandits responsible for the abduction and killings. "Our findings showed that some of the suspects were in contact with the abductors through telephone conversations, and investigators are analysing those communications as part of efforts to uncover the full network behind the crime," he stated.
The arrests have brought a glimmer of hope to the grieving parents of the 46 children and teachers who remain in captivity. Yet, as night falls on the fourth day since the attack, the forest that has swallowed their loved ones has refused to give them back. A parent whose two children were abducted, Muhammad Saleh, told reporters that the family had endured sleepless nights since the children were taken away. "This is the fourth day since my two children were abducted, and I have not slept. My wife hardly eats and cries all the time," he said. He added that the continued silence from the abductors was tormenting the family. "Nobody has contacted us or explained the reason for the abduction. The silence is tormenting us," he said. Other parents expressed fears that the insurgents may attempt to recruit the abducted children into their ranks if security operatives fail to rescue them quickly.
The Christian Association of Nigeria has condemned the abduction of schoolchildren, teachers, and school officials during the coordinated attacks on schools, describing the incident as a national disgrace and a frightening sign of worsening insecurity. The association lamented what it described as the "national humiliation" of seeing teachers and parents pleading for mercy while classrooms are turned into hunting grounds. Teachers in Ogbomoso also shut down classroom activities and staged a peaceful protest to the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) office in the town, demanding improved security around schools and safer learning environments for both staff and students.
As the nation waits and prays for the safe return of 46 innocent souls, one question echoes louder than all others: How many more children must be taken from their classrooms before Nigeria finally protects its schools? The armed men came in camouflage, spoke the languages of the people, and moved through the communities undetected. They were not outsiders. They were informants, collaborators, and perhaps even neighbors. And until the networks that enable them are dismantled, and until schools are fortified with the protection they so desperately need, every classroom in rural Nigeria will remain a potential hunting ground. For the parents of Oriire, the hours stretch into eternities, and every unringing phone is a reminder that their children are still out there, somewhere in the darkness of the Old Oyo National Park, waiting for a rescue that cannot come soon enough.
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