Tinubu Condemns Oyo School Killings, Demands State Police
President Bola Tinubu has condemned the killing of an educator during a coordinated raid on schools in the Esiele community of Oyo State, labelling the act barbaric. Gunmen riding motorcycles invaded three education centres in the Oriire Local Government Area last Friday, abducting an unknown number of pupils, students, and academic staff. The Presidency confirmed that the Inspector-General of Police is personally leading a tactical search-and-rescue operation in the rural border forests. In a statement issued by his media office, the President directed security agencies to find the perpetrators and their local accomplices. This latest assault marks a worrying expansion of mass school kidnappings into the south-western region.
The coordinated morning assault targeted Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School. Armed hoodlums killed an assistant headmaster who tried to escape through a window, alongside a local commercial motorcyclist who resisted the seizure of his vehicle. The attackers then used cars parked on the school grounds to transport their hostages into the dense forest reserves leading toward Kwara State. A distressed video has since emerged online showing an abducted principal pleading with the state government for a peaceful resolution. The regional education board has responded by shutting down all primary schools in four neighbouring districts to prevent further raids.
The presidency is using the tragedy to push for a fundamental restructuring of domestic law enforcement. Mr Tinubu noted that recurring mass abductions highlight the inability of centralized federal forces to protect underserved rural communities. He urged the National Assembly to accelerate the passage of pending legislation to establish state-controlled police forces. This represents a significant political shift, as federal authorities have historically resisted decentralizing police powers out of fear that regional governors would misuse them. The severity of the rural security crisis appears to have forced a change of heart in the capital.
Federal and state security forces have deployed advanced intelligence assets to track the gang’s movement through the adjoining forest corridors. The Inspector-General has arrived in the state to coordinate operations between the Oyo and Kwara police commands. These joint deployments aim to block the escape routes used by bandits to move hostages between regional jurisdictions. Local professional groups have criticized the slow initial response, warning that delays only embolden criminal networks operating near the Old Oyo National Park. Bureaucratic friction between state governments and federal security chiefs often slows down critical rescue windows during the early hours of an abduction.
The expansion of school raids into the south-west threatens the relative economic stability of the zone. For years, the mass kidnapping of schoolchildren was largely confined to distant northern territories. This attack proves that rural schools nationwide remain soft targets for armed syndicates seeking large ransom payouts. Security experts warn that relying on reactive tactical deployments will not solve the underlying structural vulnerabilities of these remote institutions. Until the government can guarantee rural safety, rural education will remain a hazardous occupation.