Security agencies have intensified efforts to rescue Oyo abducted teachers and pupils seized in coordinated attacks on schools in Ogbomoso, as panic spread across the area following rumours of fresh bandit incursions.
According to Punch Newspaper, the Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu, deployed additional detectives from Force Headquarters in Abuja to support ongoing rescue operations in Oyo State.
The abductors struck last Friday, targeting three schools in Oriire Local Government Area, including Baptist Nursery and Primary School in Yawota, Community Grammar School and L.A. Primary School in Esiele. State governor Seyi Makinde said 25 pupils and seven teachers were taken, while one person was killed during the attacks.
The incident triggered fear across Ogbomoso, with parents rushing to collect their children from schools amid reports that armed men had entered the town. Some schools shut early while rumours also spread that Ladoke Akintola University of Technology had closed over security threats.
However, the Oyo State Police Command dismissed the claims, saying investigations showed the individuals seen near a school were a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps officer and two civilians who had come for a birthday visit.
The command said false reports from students quickly spread across neighbouring communities, heightening tension before facts were established. Authorities added that patrols have been strengthened and normal activities have resumed.
Traditional rulers from Ogbomosoland have called on President Bola Tinubu to approve a military base in Oriire, warning that banditry is moving deeper into the South-West and threatening farming communities.
The Oodua People’s Congress also urged governors in the region to arm local security outfits to confront armed gangs, while activist Sunday Igboho said his supporters were prepared to enter forests and flush out kidnappers once government approval is granted.
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria condemned the abduction and the killing of teacher Michael Oyedokun, calling it evidence of a deepening national security crisis and demanding urgent action from the federal government.
