Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A disturbing new reality has taken hold in parts of Ogbomoso, Oyo State, where secondary school students have been seen arriving at their schools armed with cutlasses, machetes, and other makeshift weapons, driven by an overwhelming fear of another bandit attack after the recent mass abduction of pupils and teachers in the neighbouring Oriire Local Government Area. Viral videos and photographs circulating on social media since Thursday, May 21, 2026, have shown groups of students clutching crude weapons alongside their backpacks and notebooks, a stark illustration of the terror that has gripped rural and semi-urban communities across the state. The situation escalated dramatically following a security scare at Are-Ago High School in Ogbomoso, where students spotted unfamiliar individuals behind the school fence and, assuming the worst, triggered a panic that spread through frantic messages and rumours of an imminent invasion.
The traumatic events of May 15, 2026, when armed bandits on motorcycles stormed three schools in Oriire Local Government Area, remain seared into the collective memory of Oyo residents. In that coordinated assault, gunmen abducted 46 pupils, students, and teachers from Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School, Ahoro‑Esinele; and L.A. Primary School, Esiele. A teacher, Mr. Michael Oyedokun, was later beheaded by his captors, while another teacher, Mr. Joel Adesiyan, was shot dead during the initial attack. The abducted victims, including a two‑year‑old toddler named Christianah Akanbi, remain in captivity despite an ongoing rescue operation involving the military, police, Amotekun corps, and local vigilantes. That operation has been complicated by the bandits’ use of improvised explosive devices and the deployment of child hostages as human shields.
It was against this backdrop of unresolved trauma that students at Are-Ago High School in Ogbomoso, on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, spotted several unfamiliar individuals moving behind the school fence. Within minutes, a rumour spread through the student body and across messaging apps: bandits were back. Some students fled from their classrooms, while others, rather than running, grabbed whatever they could find to defend themselves. Eyewitness accounts described teenagers arming themselves with cutlasses, machetes, iron bars, and wooden planks, positioning themselves at windows and doors, ready to confront any attacker. A teacher who was present told reporters, “The fear in their eyes was real. These children have been hearing stories of their peers being taken from classrooms. They decided they would not go without a fight.”
Fortunately, the Oyo State Police Command moved swiftly to douse the panic. In a statement issued later that day, the command’s Public Relations Officer, CSP Olayinka Ayanlade, clarified that there was no bandit invasion or security breach at the school. The “suspicious individuals” who had triggered the alert were identified as an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) attached to the Kwara State Command, accompanied by two civilians who had merely stopped in the area. According to the police, a misunderstanding between the visitors and some teachers, coupled with the heightened state of alert among students, led to the false alarm. “There was no bandit attack, invasion, or any form of security breach in the affected areas as falsely portrayed,” the police statement read.
But even with the official clarification, the fear has not subsided. Parents in Ogbomoso and surrounding communities have kept their children home from school in large numbers. Those who have returned to classes have done so with a palpable sense of dread, and the sight of students carrying cutlasses has become a disturbing commonality. A parent who gave her name only as Mrs. Bamidele told Stone Reporters News, “My son told me he would rather be expelled than go to school without something to protect himself. I cannot blame him. The government has not shown us that our children are safe.”
The situation in Ogbomoso reflects a broader crisis of confidence in school safety across Oyo State. The state government has deployed additional security personnel to schools in the Oriire axis and has established a joint operational command to coordinate rescue efforts for the still‑missing victims. Governor Seyi Makinde has vowed that his administration will not surrender to terror, while also indicating a willingness to listen to the abductors’ demands. The Inspector‑General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has personally visited the affected communities and ordered the deployment of the Intelligence Response Team to assist in the rescue mission. However, for the students who now wield cutlasses on their way to class, these assurances ring hollow.
The psychological impact of the Oriire attacks cannot be overstated. Educational psychologists warn that even children who were not directly abducted are exhibiting symptoms of post‑traumatic stress disorder, including hypervigilance, nightmares, and a heightened startle response. The decision to arm themselves with cutlasses is a manifestation of that trauma – a desperate attempt to regain a sense of control in an environment where adult authorities have seemingly failed to protect them. “When children feel they must take up weapons to go to school, it is a sign that the social contract has collapsed,” said Dr. Funmilayo Adebayo, a clinical psychologist based in Ibadan. “The government’s primary duty is to provide security. That duty is not being met.”
Meanwhile, the rescued but still missing victims of the Oriire attack remain at the forefront of public concern. One week after the abduction, there has been no major breakthrough in securing their release. The Oyo State Government has confirmed that six suspects, believed to be informants who provided intelligence to the bandits, are in custody and are assisting investigators. But the actual abductors, armed with AK‑47 rifles and planted explosives, remain at large, and the forest corridors of the Old Oyo National Park continue to conceal their hideout.
As students across Ogbomoso prepare for another day of classes, many will once again slip a cutlass into their bags alongside their textbooks. The police have urged parents to remain calm and to discourage their children from carrying weapons, warning that such actions could lead to unintended injuries or legal consequences. But for a community that has seen its children dragged from classrooms and a teacher beheaded, calm is a luxury none can afford. The cutlasses, crude and inadequate as they are, represent something far more profound: a declaration that the children of Ogbomoso will no longer be passive victims. They are ready to fight – even if they should never have to.
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