Oyo Teachers Protest Abduction Of Colleagues, Students

Teachers in public schools across Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State on Monday staged a peaceful protest over the abduction of their colleagues and students by suspected gunmen, demanding urgent government action for their rescue.

The protesters marched through parts of the council area in the early hours of the day, carrying placards and chanting solidarity songs as they called on security agencies and the state government to intensify rescue operations.

Some of the placards bore messages such as “Their deaths demand action,” “Say their name, remember their sacrifice,” and “Noble teachers gone too soon,” reflecting growing anger and grief within the education community.

The protest followed Friday’s attack on communities in the Ahoro-Esiele/Yawota axis of Oriire in the Ogbomoso area, where armed men reportedly stormed schools on motorcycles and abducted teachers and pupils.

The affected institutions included Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele; L.A. Primary School, Esiele; and Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School.

The attack also left casualties, including the killing of an assistant headmaster, Joel Adesiyan, and a commercial motorcyclist.

Governor Seyi Makinde had earlier confirmed that seven teachers were abducted during the incident, while noting that the exact number of missing pupils was still being verified.

He also disclosed that the state government received a disturbing video showing one of the abducted teachers, a mathematics instructor, had been killed by the attackers.

“What we know is that seven teachers in all were abducted and unfortunately, we got a video this morning that one of the teachers, the maths teacher, was killed by the terrorists this morning,” Makinde said.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force in Oyo State, DSP Ayanlade Olushola Olayinka, said the command was a ware of a viral video allegedly showing abducted schoolchildren pleading for help.

He said the police had launched an investigation into the incident while search-and-rescue operations were ongoing to locate the victims and apprehend the perpetrators.