Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has ignited a political firestorm by alleging that the Oyo State Government may have orchestrated the recent mass abduction of 46 pupils and teachers from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area as part of a deliberate plot to blackmail President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Fayose made the incendiary claim on Monday, 1 June 2026, during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, just 17 days after armed bandits stormed Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School, Ahoro‑Esinele; and L.A. Primary School, Esiele, killing an assistant headmaster, Joel Adesiyan, and a commercial motorcyclist, and later beheading teacher Michael Oyedokun in a viral video that shocked the nation.
“I sometimes believe that the abduction at Oyo School was orchestrated by the Oyo State Government to blackmail President Tinubu,” Fayose declared, acknowledging that he could be wrong but insisting that the timing and handling of the crisis pointed to political manipulation. He accused Governor Seyi Makinde of prioritising his political ambitions over the safety of the abducted victims. According to Fayose, Makinde was busy consolidating his nomination and those of his candidates while the children languished in the forest. “The governor of Oyo State had his nomination and that of his candidates in the face of this abduction. He did not take any action, no steps were taken. It was after those nominations that he went to the families to visit them,” Fayose said.
The former governor stressed that state governments bear primary responsibility for local security and should not immediately shift attention to the Federal Government. “Before you get to the president in the hierarchy of leadership and governance, there is local government, there is state. The state has security votes and there are people that are supposed to be working,” he argued. His allegation came just hours after President Tinubu dispatched a high‑level delegation led by Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila to the affected communities in Oyo State, where the President announced the recruitment of 1,000 forest guards and the deployment of a specialised rescue unit.
Fayose’s accusation quickly polarised the political space. On social media, supporters of the former governor argued that his suspicion mirrored the observations of many Nigerians who have questioned Governor Makinde’s response to the crisis. Critics, however, accused Fayose of making a reckless and unsubstantiated statement that deflected attention from the urgent need to rescue the remaining victims. As of Tuesday, 2 June 2026, the Oyo State Government had not issued any official response to the allegation, and calls to the media aide of Governor Makinde went unanswered.
The abduction that has now entered its 19th day was initially reported on 15 May 2026. Community leaders compiled a list of 46 victims, including 39 pupils and students and seven teachers. Among them is a two‑year‑old toddler, Christianah Akanbi, and the principal of Community High School, Mrs. Rachael Alamu, who has since appeared in a desperate video from captivity begging the government to negotiate rather than use force. The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has declared an indefinite strike across all public schools in Oyo State, demanding the unconditional release of the captives. Civil society groups have held multiple protests in Ibadan, and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has mobilised for nationwide solidarity rallies.
The Defence Headquarters had earlier described the attack as “an isolated criminal incident” and insisted that no terrorist network had been established in the South‑West. However, the Federal Government’s decision to dispatch a high‑level delegation and approve the recruitment of 1,000 forest guards suggested that the administration regarded the incident as more than mere banditry. Fayose’s latest broadside against Governor Makinde is not without precedent. The two politicians have a history of public sparring. In 2024, Fayose had alleged that Makinde received N50 billion from the Federal Government to compensate victims of an explosion in Ibadan – an allegation the state government initially denied before confirming receipt of N30 billion.
On Tuesday, 2 June 2026, the Teachers Action Group and the Take‑It‑Back Movement staged another protest at the Mokola Roundabout in Ibadan, carrying placards that read “Bring Back Our Children” and “No More Bandits.” The protesters, who included members of the Oyo State NUT, chanted solidarity songs as they marched toward the Governor’s Office. The strike and the protests have deepened the isolation of the state government, which now faces a crisis of confidence from its own constituents.
For the families of the 46 abducted pupils and teachers, the political war of words between Fayose and Makinde offers little comfort. They have watched videos of their children being held captive, listened to the principal’s desperate pleas, and read accounts of failed rescue attempts. The teachers have downed their tools, and the students who were not abducted have been sent home. While politicians trade accusations of orchestration, the captives remain in the bush. The question that haunts the people of Oyo State is no longer whether the abduction was a setup, but whether the government — state or federal — can rescue the 46 souls before the next video of a beheading is released.
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