Eyewitnesses narrate how terrorists abducted 45 Oyo pupils

About 45 pupils were reported abducted during the Friday attack on three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.

The schools attacked were Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School, Esiele; and L. A. Primary School.

The abductors allegedly fled into a nearby forest reserve bordering Oriire communities and the Old Oyo National Park axis with their victims.

A teacher at Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Elizabeth Olagoke, told PUNCH that the kidnappers spoke Yoruba, Hausa, and Pidgin English.

“The terrorists came around 8am. We had all started the morning session. They came on six motorcycles, and there were two passengers on each bike.

“I heard them saying, ‘E ya wolé’ (come in). They started shooting sporadically, and there was pandemonium. The terrorists were speaking Yoruba, Hausa, and Pidgin English.

“They were all masked and dressed in camouflage, and they were young men. They came from the Esinele area. They operated for about seven minutes.

“They entered my classroom first and seized me and a two-year-old girl I was carrying. I pleaded with them, and one of them said they should let me go.

“I started running, and some of them even chased after me. I had about 20 children in my kindergarten class. The schoolchildren are from three communities: Yawota, Esinele, and Alausa. The abducted schoolchildren are: eight from Yawota, 20 from Esinele, and five from Alausa. They also kidnapped a teacher. In all, they abducted about 48 persons.

“The terrorists stole my husband’s motorcycle, which he had parked at my school. They also killed a motorcyclist and snatched his bike. The total number of motorcycles stolen in Yawota is three. They took away the schoolchildren on motorcycles. It was a terrifying situation. I am yet to recover from the shock,” the teacher narrated.

The traditional ruler of the community, the Eleshi Ele of Esiele, Oba Tajudeen Abioye, said 45 pupils were abducted.

Oba Abioye noted that efforts were ongoing to rescue them.

A former lawmaker representing Oriire Constituency, Bamigboye Abidoye, who visited the community, said 36 pupils were abducted from Baptist Nursery and Primary School alone.

“About five teachers were also abducted from the secondary school,” he added.

Three suspects are said to have been arrested in connection with the incident.

A senior security operative involved in the investigation explained that the suspects were caught on Friday in Esiele and were transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department.

“Investigation is ongoing, and the public is assured that the schoolchildren and the principal will be rescued unhurt,” he added.

A parent of one of the abducted school children, Ajarah Ayanwale, said the terrorists deceived residents into believing they were security operatives deployed to protect the communities.

She noted that while her seven-year-old son in Primary 1 was abducted, her four-year-old child escaped.

“We saw the kidnappers in army uniforms in the morning. We thought they were in the community to protect us. Some of us were even saying, ‘Thank God, we now have security presence in our community,’” she said, while fighting back tears.

According to Ayanwale, panic erupted moments later when gunshots rang out across the communities.

“We started hearing gunshots a few minutes later. We started running helter-skelter, and we were concerned about the safety of our children,” she said.

Ayanwale noted that the terrorists abducted children from Yawota, Esiele, Alausa, and nearby Ohunya village.

“It was when we returned home expecting our children that we realised they had been kidnapped. We were told they took away our children in a car and on motorcycles. The government should please help us rescue our children,” she pleaded.

Another mother, Shukurat Pius, said her five-year-old son, Stephen, was among the abducted pupils.

She recalled that residents initially noticed suspicious movements of motorcycles before gunshots erupted around the school.

“Some of the schoolchildren escaped through the windows, but the little ones who could not run were seized,” she said.

According to her, the gunmen forced some children onto motorcycles while others were marched into the forest on foot.

“They were put on motorcycles, and the rest of the children were marched into the forest on foot. I want my child alive. The government should help bring our children back,” she said.

For Nafisat Agunle, the pain has been unbearable since her eight-year-old son in Primary 2 disappeared during the attack.

“We were at home when we started hearing gunshots around 8am to 9am. Later, we heard gunmen had attacked the primary school,” she said.

Agunle explained that she rushed to the school and later returned home in desperate search of her child but could not find him anywhere.