Armed terrorists on Friday attacked three schools in Oyo State’s Oriire Local Government Area, killing an assistant headmaster, abducting pupils and teachers, and throwing surrounding communities into panic.
The affected schools were Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School, Esiele; and L.A. Primary School.
Residents said the attackers stormed the communities around 9 a.m., arriving on motorcycles and firing sporadically as pupils assembled for classes. Witnesses said the gunmen moved between schools in a coordinated operation, forcing pupils and teachers to flee into nearby bushes.
“The attackers came in large numbers on motorcycles and started shooting immediately. They moved from one school to another within minutes,” a resident said.
The Assistant Headmaster of L.A. Primary School, Joel Adesiyan, was killed while attempting to escape through a window, witnesses said. An unidentified motorcyclist was also killed after he rode into the scene during the attack.
The attackers abducted the principal of Community Grammar School, Rachael Alamu, along with five teachers and an unspecified number of pupils. Residents said the gunmen moved quickly through classrooms during the raid.
“The assistant head teacher tried to escape through the window, but he was shot dead. The principal and five teachers were kidnapped. They also took several pupils,” another resident said.
Authorities had not confirmed the number of abducted pupils as of Friday night.
Residents said the attackers used the principal’s vehicle to transport some victims before abandoning and burning it after it reportedly developed a mechanical fault while moving through rough terrain.
“The schools are close to each other, so the attacks happened almost at the same time. They used the principal’s car to move some abducted victims, but when it stopped working, they set it ablaze,” a resident said.
The traditional ruler of Esiele, Oba Tajudeen Abioye, said the attackers arrived on eight motorcycles carrying two armed men each.
“We were holding a town hall meeting when we heard gunshots. People started running in different directions. Later, we discovered they had attacked the schools, killed a teacher and abducted pupils and the principal,” the monarch said.
He said pupils from both primary and secondary schools, including kindergarten children, were abducted.
“They did not spare anyone. We still cannot confirm the exact number of victims,” he added.
Abioye blamed the scale of the attack on the absence of a nearby police station, saying security operatives arrived nearly two hours after the gunmen had fled.
“The police station is far from our community. It took them about two hours to get here,” he said.
Following the attack, the assailants reportedly fled into a forest reserve near Old Oyo National Park. Police and military personnel launched a joint search-and-rescue operation, with Oyo State Commissioner of Police Ayodeji Abimbola leading tactical teams to the area.
Residents said many families fled their homes after the attack, fearing another assault.
Oriire Local Government Chairman Michael Olateju said the attackers entered through the Yawota axis, describing the terrain as remote and difficult to access.
“They entered through Yawota. The area is far from the nearest police station, making rapid response difficult,” he said.
A former lawmaker representing Oriire Constituency, Bamigboye Abidoye, said the attackers exploited the communities’ proximity to forest reserves.
“The bandits moved quickly between communities on motorcycles and abducted pupils and teachers. We need a military post in these areas,” he said.
One relative of a missing student said his 16-year-old niece, a Junior Secondary School 2 student, had not returned home since leaving for school Friday morning.
“She left home around 7 a.m., and we have not seen her since. We do not know whether she was kidnapped or escaped into the bush,” he said.
The Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board described the incident as “a dark and painful moment” and ordered the temporary closure of schools in Oriire and neighboring local government areas, including Surulere, Oyo East and Olorunsogo.
The Oyo State Police Command confirmed the deaths of the assistant headmaster and the motorcyclist but said no pupil had been officially confirmed killed. Police said abducted victims included both pupils and school staff.
In a separate incident Friday, gunmen reportedly attacked a school in Mussa community near Sambisa Forest in Borno State, abducting an unspecified number of pupils.
Borno State Deputy Speaker Abdullahi Askira confirmed the attack but said details remained unclear.
“Many of the students reportedly fled into the bush, but I do not yet have details of those abducted,” he said.
Samaila Kaigama, president of the Borno South Youth Alliance, said the attackers stormed the school around 9 a.m. without resistance.
“They came in the morning and took away some children, though the exact number is unknown,” he said.
Police spokesperson Nahum Daso said the Borno State Police Command was still verifying details of the incident.
The attacks in Oyo and Borno add to a growing number of school kidnappings in Nigeria in recent years, including the 2014 Chibok abductions and similar attacks in Niger and Kebbi states, raising renewed concerns about security in rural communities and schools.
