…Captors are demanding direct talks with government officials.
More than 40 school children, aged 2 to 6 years and teachers who were abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, South-West Nigeria, on 15 May 2026, are reportedly being subjected to torture, as their captors are demanding direct talks with government officials.
The victims have been held by bandits for 10 days, and videos and images are circulating online showing children who are badly beaten as their captors attempt to pressure families and the government for ransom.
Incident Overview: Coordinated attacks, abductions
According to eyewitness accounts, the suspected armed bandits who arrived on motorcycles invaded three schools in the Ogbomoso area.
In coordinated attacks and strikes, they targeted Community High School (Ahoro-Esinele), Yawota Baptist School, and Alawusa, leaving a casualty and whisking others away.
Advocatus Africa gathered that while a teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was brutally murdered and reportedly beheaded by the kidnappers shortly after the abduction, about 46 individuals remain missing, including 39 students (one as young as a 2-year-old toddler), 6 teachers, and one school principal.
Condition of Captives, demands by captors
While the families of victims are in pain and trauma, recent updates have caused widespread trauma as the bandits have released “proof of life” media to get funds as a condition of releasing those in captivity.
The victims are currently being physically abused, as visuals show the children with visible scars and injuries from being beaten.
A video has surfaced online showing a nursing mother and the school principal pleading for help from the forest, leaving the victims psychologically traumatised and the nation in shock.
Screenshot from the video of a nursing mother and the school principal, pleading for help from the forest.
In a twist, while negotiations are underway, the kidnappers have reportedly rejected local intermediaries, demanding direct negotiations with top government officials.
Public Outcry and Responses
Both the state and federal governments have been under pressure by parents, various groups, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the international community to ensure the safe release of the children and arrest of the culprits.
A distraught Oyo farmer, Michael Ojo, whose four children, daughter-in-law and infant grandchildren were among the abductees, told Sahara Reporters that, “I wish I had never been sent to school.”
Meanwhile, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, pleaded with the kidnappers on Instagram: “These are children…beaten up to induce pressure. My heart bleeds. To the kidnappers…show mercy…these are innocent babies.”
Six suspects are reportedly in custody as President Bola Tinubu and Governor Seyi Makinde have ordered security agencies to intensify rescue operations.
The incident has triggered massive outrage and a shutdown of local educational activities, with school closures. The Oyo State government has temporarily shut down schools in four local government areas (LGAs) following the attack.
There have been labour protests by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and other labour groups in Ogbomoso, demanding the safe return of their colleagues and students.
