On May 15, 2026, Nigeria’s southwest was shaken by a rare mass school abduction. Armed gunmen raided three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, abducting 39 pupils and 7 teachers.
Today, troops, police and vigilantes have cornered the kidnappers inside Old Oyo National Park, sealing all escape routes as pressure mounts for the victims’ release.
What happened on May 15: Coordinated attack on 3 schools
Around 8:00am, heavily armed men on 6 motorcycles stormed Baptist Nursery and Primary School in Yawota, Community Grammar School in Esiele, and L.A. Primary School in Ahoro-Esinele.
Witnesses said the attackers, masked and dressed in military camouflage, spoke Yoruba, Hausa and Pidgin English as they fired indiscriminately.
The raid left 2 adults dead: Assistant Headmaster Mr. Adesiyan and a commercial motorcyclist who refused to surrender his bike.
The gunmen abducted between 46-49 people total – mostly children aged 2 to 16, plus 7 teachers including the Vice Principal of Community Grammar School, Mrs. Alamu Folawe.
A 2-year-old toddler being carried by a teacher was also taken.
The kidnappers fled into the forest, using the victims’ Toyota Corolla as getaway transport before abandoning and burning it.
Current situation: Troops surround hideout in 2,512 sq km park
Security forces have now “effectively contained” the terrorists within Old Oyo National Park, a vast 2,512-square-kilometer forest reserve bordering Kwara State.
The Nigerian Army, Police Force, Civil Defence Agro Rangers and Amotekun Corps sealed all possible escape routes to prevent movement into Kwara or other neighboring states.
Military sources say the insurgents, identified as Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad – the group widely known as Boko Haram – have littered the forest with IEDs and move hostages daily to avoid detection.
At least 3 soldiers have been killed during clashes, including a Nigerian Army lieutenant.
“The kidnappers have been effectively confined within the National Park axis following coordinated security operations,” Oyo State Commissioner for Information Prince Dotun Oyelade confirmed.
The demands
Initially, the kidnappers made 4 demands: release of detained terrorist commanders Mahmud Usman and Abubakar Abba, ₦1 billion ransom, 2 Hilux vehicles, and implementation of Sharia-related laws. Usman and Abba are senior Boko Haram/Ansaru leaders currently in custody for multiple attacks.
Under pressure from the security cordon, the group has reportedly “scaled back demands” to just ransom. The government has maintained it will not negotiate with terrorists and insists efforts remain focused on rescue operations.
Tensions escalated when the kidnappers released a video on May 17 showing the beheading of mathematics teacher Michael Oyedokun, a move analysts say was meant to blackmail authorities and halt the rescue. Police say no schoolchildren have died so far.
National fallout: Protests, strikes and political pressure
The abduction has triggered nationwide outrage. Teachers under the Nigeria Union of Teachers shut all public primary and secondary schools across Oyo’s 33 LGAs for an indefinite strike starting June 1.
The strike disrupted WASSCE exams as teachers demanded urgent action.
Protests erupted in Ibadan, Ogbomoso and Abeokuta with placards reading “From Chibok to Oriire, our children are still crying” and “Stop killing custodians of knowledge”.
Yoruba groups criticized South-West governors for security lapses, while celebrities like Tiwa Savage and Davido wore jackets bearing the victims’ names at concerts.
President Bola Tinubu condemned the attack as “baric” and vowed a breakthrough soon.
Governor Seyi Makinde confirmed 6 suspects arrested, including informants and logistics suppliers.
Old Oyo National Park
Security experts say the park has become a major infiltration route for bandits fleeing military operations in the North.
Its dense forests and porous borders with Kwara, Osun and Ekiti make it hard to police.
The Defence Headquarters linked this attack to “JAS group terrorists dislodged from other parts of the country due to high-intensity operations”.
As of late June 2026, 36 days after the abduction, the 46 hostages remain in captivity but security forces say the terrorists are “trapped” with no escape route.
Police and Oyo government have urged residents to rely only on official channels and disregard viral rumors of release.
The Oyo school kidnapping marks one of the first major school raids in Nigeria’s South-West since Chibok in 2014, raising fresh questions about forest security and the protection of schools across the country.
