Panic and outrage have gripped Oyo State following the confirmed killing of an abducted teacher by gunmen, who recently raided multiple schools in the Ahoro-Esinele community of Oriire Local Government Area.
The tragedy came to light after a distress video circulated online showing the male victim pleading for government intervention before he was executed by his captors.
The gruesome development has sparked intense anxiety among relatives of the remaining captives, as community sources report that a total of 46 individuals—comprising seven teachers and 39 pupils—were dragged into the forest during the broad-daylight raid.
In immediate response to the murder, outraged educators in Ogbomoso shut down classroom activities and staged a peaceful protest, marching to the regional Technical Education Post Primary Schools Commission (TESCOM) office.
Armed with placards, the striking teachers demanded a safer learning environment and urged authorities to intensify rescue operations.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu strongly condemned the killing as “barbaric,” announcing that a tech-driven tactical operation led by the Inspector-General of Police is underway.
President Tinubu also utilized the moment to advocate for the establishment of state police, urging the National Assembly to accelerate the necessary legislation to secure underserved rural areas.
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, while addressing journalists in Ibadan, vowed that his administration would not surrender to terror and expressed a willingness to listen to the abductors’ demands to ensure the safe release of the victims.
Discrepancies in the exact figures emerged as the governor conclusively confirmed the abduction of seven students from Community Secondary School, alongside 18 children and seven teachers from First Baptist Primary and Nursery School.
Describing the ongoing rescue mission at the Kwara-Oyo border as “fluid and difficult,” Makinde revealed that a specialized operational centre has been established at the state Police Headquarters to streamline intelligence.
To bolster long-term security, Governor Makinde disclosed that newly procured surveillance aircraft from China have arrived in Nigeria and are currently being reassembled at the Nigerian Air Force hangar in Lagos.
The governor assured residents that these aerial assets would be fully operational before the end of June to monitor vulnerable forest corridors.
He further pleaded with the public and the media to avoid sensationalizing the delicate situation, emphasizing that innocent lives are at stake, while urging citizens to actively support security agencies by reporting any suspicious movements within their localities.
The spike in school raids has also drawn fierce condemnation from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), with its President, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, describing the incident as a “national disgrace.”
In a strongly worded statement, CAN warned that the standard blueprint of mass abductions, once concentrated in northern Nigeria, is dangerously encroaching into the South-West.
Mourning the slain educator, Archbishop Okoh declared that Nigerians are weary of “condolences without consequences,” calling on the Federal Government to aggressively secure rural communities and transform safe-school initiatives from mere paper policies into actionable protection.
