President Bola Tinubu has pledged that all victims abducted during the recent attack on schools in Oyo State will be safely rescued, while strongly condemning the killing of one of the kidnapped teachers.
In a statement on Monday issued through his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President described the reported killing as barbaric and extended condolences to Governor Seyi Makinde, the state government, and families affected by the incident.
Gunmen had stormed Esiele community in Oriire Local Government Area, targeting Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School, where teachers, students, and pupils were abducted.
Security agencies, according to the Presidency, have intensified coordinated operations to track down the attackers and secure the release of the captives.
Tinubu said security forces, including the police and intelligence units, were already deployed, with the Inspector-General of Police reportedly directing a technology-driven rescue operation.
He expressed optimism that progress would soon be made and warned that perpetrators and their collaborators would be brought to justice.
The President also renewed calls for the creation of state police, arguing that decentralised policing would improve response to insecurity in underserved communities, and urged the National Assembly to speed up legislative action on the proposal.
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde had earlier confirmed that one of the abducted teachers, believed to be a Mathematics instructor, was killed by the assailants, while seven teachers and an unknown number of pupils remain in captivity.
The incident has triggered protests by teachers in Ogbomoso, where education workers shut down schools and marched to the TESCOM office, demanding urgent rescue efforts and improved security in learning environments across the state.
