IBADAN — The Oyo State Government and the State Police Command have strongly debunked viral social media reports claiming the release of the students and teachers abducted from three schools in the Oriire Local Government Area of the state.
The security apparatus in the state confirmed on Thursday that the 32 hostages—comprising 25 schoolchildren and seven teachers—remain trapped in captivity, nearly a week after heavily armed terrorists breached the peaceful agrarian axis of Ogbomoso.
Social Media False Alarm Heightens Tension
Panic and false hope gripped the state late Wednesday after unverified posts swirled across various digital platforms, asserting that a breakthrough had been achieved and the victims freed.
However, clearing the air on Thursday morning, the Special Adviser on Security to the Oyo State Governor, Abayomi Fagbenro, urged the public to disregard the viral reports, labeling them completely false.
”As of 10:35 am today, it is not true. There has been no such development,” Fagbenro stated authoritatively.
Echoing this stance, the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, Olayinka Ayanlade, noted that while the joint security enforcement teams have intensified their intelligence-led operations, no rescue or release had been recorded as of press time.
Anatomy of the Oriire School Raid
The current security crisis began on Friday, May 15, 2026, when bandits dressed in military camouflage and riding six motorcycles invaded the Ahoro-Esinele/Yawota axis in Oriire LGA around 8:00 am.
The attackers launched coordinated assaults on three concurrent educational facilities:
- First Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota (18 pupils and 7 teachers abducted)
- Community Grammar School, Ahoro-Esinele (7 students abducted)
- L.A. Primary School, Esiele
The initial raid left an assistant headmaster, Joel Adesiyan, and a commercial motorcyclist dead on the scene. Terrified pupils reportedly escaped by jumping through classroom windows into nearby bushes, while smaller children who could not run fast enough were corralled by the gunmen.
Hostage Slain as Bandits Use Human Shields
Public outrage reached a boiling point earlier in the week following the circulation of a horrific video published by the terrorists, depicting the execution of one of the captives. The victim was later identified as Michael Oyedokun, a mathematics teacher.
Governor Seyi Makinde, who confirmed the authentic profile of the casualty during an emergency briefing, explained that fleeing insurgent factions migrating southwards from northern theaters are putting immense pressure on South-West border corridors.
The rescue operation has faced severe tactical hurdles. Security sources revealed that the bandits have retreated deep into the rugged thickets bordering the Old Oyo National Park and the Oowe River, using the captive children as human shields. Furthermore, the terrorists have deployed Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) along the forest tracks, which wounded several operatives of the Western Nigeria Security Network (Amotekun Corps) during an initial pursuit.
Security Beef-up and Internal Informants
In a bid to break the deadlock, the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, visited the Ogbomoso border communities to personally assess the operational theater. The IGP has ordered the immediate deployment of the specialized Police Schools Protection Squad and additional tactical assets from Abuja to collaborate with neighboring Kwara State commands.
Meanwhile, a breakthrough in local intelligence has led to the arrest of six suspected informants within the locality. The suspects were reportedly tracked via telecommunications data while providing logistics and directing the bandits through secret forest escape routes.
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As public anxiety mounts across Ogbomoso and environs, traditional rulers led by the Alapa of Apa, Oba Akin Akintola, have appealed to President Bola Tinubu for the immediate establishment of a permanent military formation near the Oriire forest reserve to permanently secure the vulnerable borderlines.
