By Frontline Reporters
Panic swept across Oyo State on Friday after heavily armed terrorists launched coordinated attacks on three schools in Oriire Local Government Area, killing an assistant headmaster, abducting pupils and teachers, and throwing several communities into confusion and fear.
The attackers stormed Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School, Esiele; and L.A. Primary School in a brazen daylight operation that residents described as one of the most terrifying assaults on schools in recent memory. Witnesses said the gunmen, who arrived on motorcycles around 9am, opened fire indiscriminately as pupils gathered for morning assembly, forcing children and teachers to flee into nearby bushes.
Residents said the terrorists moved swiftly from one school to another without resistance, creating chaos across the communities. “They came in large numbers and started shooting immediately. Everyone scattered. Within minutes, they had attacked several schools,” a resident recounted.
Tragedy struck when the Assistant Headmaster of L.A. Primary School, Joel Adesiyan, was shot dead while reportedly trying to escape through a window. An unsuspecting commercial motorcyclist was also killed after riding into the scene during the attack. The killings have left the communities devastated, with colleagues and residents mourning the slain educator described as dedicated and hardworking.
The terrorists also kidnapped the principal of Community Grammar School, Mrs. Rachael Alamu, alongside five teachers and an unspecified number of pupils. Community sources said the gunmen stormed classrooms and forcefully whisked victims away. Fears remain high over the actual number of abducted children, as several families are still unable to locate their wards.
In a dramatic twist, the attackers reportedly used the principal’s vehicle to transport some victims before abandoning and setting it ablaze after it developed mechanical problems while escaping through difficult terrain. The burning vehicle intensified panic, triggering mass movement of residents out of the affected communities over fears of another attack.
Confirming the incident, the traditional ruler of the community, the Eleshi Ele of Esiele, Oba Tajudeen Abioye, said the terrorists arrived on eight motorcycles carrying armed men. According to the monarch, the attack began while community leaders were holding a town hall meeting. “We suddenly heard gunshots and people started running. Later, we discovered the schools had been attacked, a teacher killed, and pupils abducted,” he said, lamenting that even kindergarten children were not spared.
The monarch blamed the scale of the attack on the absence of a nearby police station, revealing that security operatives arrived almost two hours after the terrorists had fled into nearby forests linking the Oriire axis and Old Oyo National Park. Security agencies, including the military and police tactical teams led by Oyo State Commissioner of Police Ayodeji Abimbola, have since launched a massive search-and-rescue operation in the forests.
Fear and uncertainty continued to grip the communities on Friday night as many parents remained unsure about the whereabouts of their children. One distraught relative said his 16-year-old niece, a JSS2 student, had not been seen since she left home for school that morning. “We don’t know whether she was kidnapped or escaped into the bush. The whole family is devastated,” he said.
In response, the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board described the attack as “a dark and painful moment” and ordered the temporary closure of schools in Oriire and neighbouring local government areas, including Surulere, Oyo East and Olorunsogo, pending improvement in security.
Meanwhile, in a separate attack in Borno State, suspected insurgents reportedly invaded a school in Mussa community near the Sambisa Forest, abducting an unspecified number of pupils. The Deputy Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Abdullahi Askira, confirmed the incident, describing it as heartbreaking and warning that schools in vulnerable rural communities remain exposed to armed attacks.
The latest attacks in Oyo and Borno have once again reignited concerns over the growing insecurity facing schools across Nigeria, years after the Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction and several other mass kidnappings that continue to haunt the nation.
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