Just In: Protest Rocks Ibadan Over Kidnapping of Teachers, Children by Boko Haram, Video Surfaces

• Civil society protested in Ibadan, Oyo state, demanding urgent government action for abducted teachers and students
• Reverend Bunmi Thomas emphasised the need for intensified rescue efforts amid growing fears for victims' safety
• Oyo government promised active efforts to secure the release of victims following coordinated school abductions by terrorists

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Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering security matters and counter-insurgency in Nigeria and Africa.

Oriire, Oyo state - Civil society organisations and teachers on Friday, May 29, staged a peaceful protest in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

As reported by Channels TV, the protesters demanded urgent government intervention to secure the release of teachers and pupils abducted in Oriire local government area (LGA).

CSOs, teachers protest in Ibadan

The demonstrators warned that the safety of teachers and schoolchildren across the state could no longer be treated lightly.

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The protest was organised by the Oyo State Teachers Action Group in collaboration with the Nigeria Teachers Congress (NTC), a non-governmental organisation.

Addressing the protesters, Rev. Bunmi Thomas, the national president of the NTC, said the organisation joined the demonstration in solidarity with the victims and their families, stressing that the protest was lawful and aimed at pressing the government to intensify rescue efforts.

Thomas acknowledged reports that efforts were already underway to rescue the victims but insisted that the government needed to do more.

He added:

“If the government is trying and the desired result has not been achieved, then more efforts must be intensified. We want the government to do more to rescue the teachers and pupils."

He expressed concern over the condition of the victims, particularly young children reportedly being held in difficult conditions in the bush.

He lamented:

“We have children as young as two and three years old in the bush. They are exposed to rain and harsh weather conditions. These victims are in danger, and nobody knows who could be next."

Oyo govt responds to protesters

Responding to the protest, Sunday Odukoya, the executive assistant to Governor Seyi Makinde on security matters, assured the demonstrators that the government was making active efforts to secure the release of the victims.

He said:

“This incident is unfortunate, but I want to assure you that the government is not folding its arms over the matter."

Odukoya explained that certain operational details could not be disclosed publicly so as not to jeopardise ongoing rescue efforts.

Furthermore, the government official assured the teachers that no participant in the protest would face intimidation, victimisation, or harassment.

A video of the protest can be watched below, shared via a post on X by TVC News:

Oyo school abductions ignite concerns

It would be recalled that armed Boko Haram insurgents abducted 39 students and seven ⁠teachers in an attack targeting several schools in Nigeria’s southwestern Oyo state on May 15.

The attack took place in ⁠Ahoro Esinele community in Oriire district, targeting a secondary school and two primary schools.

Elisha Olukayode Ogundiya, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Oyo state, said 46 people, mostly children aged between two and 16 years, were taken away following the attacks.

In what police called a “coordinated attack”, the outlaws simultaneously raided Baptist Nursery and Primary in Yawota, and two other schools in Esiele, seizing pupils and teachers.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu condemned the attack as “barbaric”, while promising that the federal government was working with the Oyo state government to “rescue all the victims”.

“We expect a breakthrough soon,” he said in a statement released by his office.

Governor Makinde said one abducted teacher was killed on Sunday, May 17, ‌citing a video. Six suspects have been reportedly arrested, including alleged informants and logistics suppliers to the kidnappers, he added.

Mass ⁠kidnappings by armed groups have become a serious security challenge in Nigeria in recent years, with criminal gangs exploiting weak security to target travellers, students, and rural communities for cash payments. Schools are often targeted, although such ‌attacks ‌are rare in the southwest of the country.

Read more Oyo state news:

• Alaafin Owoade plans to rebuild 200-year-old Oyo palace, gives reason
• Former Oyo governor's eldest child, Bisola Ajimobi, dies at 42

Oyo governor mourns slain forest rangers

Legit.ng earlier reported that Oyo Governor Makinde described the fatal attack on five National Park Service forest guard officers in Oloka village by some gunmen as devastating.

In a statement, Makinde revealed that preliminary investigations by security agencies indicated the attack was a cross-border operation carried out by bandits.