Teacher Kidnapped In Oyo Beheaded By Bandits

Sorrow and fear have gripped the people of Ahoro-Esinle in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State following the killing of Michael Oyedokun, one of the teachers abducted from Community High School, by suspected bandits.

Widespread condemnation has continued to pour in over the Oyo school abductions.

Among the first to speak out was the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), which denounced the wave of abductions targeting pupils, teachers and school administrators across the country.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and former presidential candidate Dr Gbenga Hashim also condemned the kidnapping of pupils from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, as well as the recent coordinated school attacks in Oriire, with both describing the incidents as “a brutal assault on Nigeria’s future.”

Normal academic activities were disrupted in several parts of Oriire as many students stayed away from school in the aftermath of the abduction of teachers and pupils by gunmen.

President Bola Tinubu equally condemned the reported killing of one of the teachers, labelling the act as barbaric.

Oyedokun was among the victims taken during last Friday’s raid on schools in the area.

He was reportedly beheaded in a disturbing video allegedly released by his captors, a development that further heightened tensions across the affected communities.

In the footage, which has since gone viral on social media, the victim was shown with his hands bound, allegedly compelled to speak before being gruesomely executed by his attackers.

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The video has sparked widespread outrage among residents, parents, civil society organisations and religious leaders, many of whom are calling on security agencies to step up efforts to secure the release of those still being held.

HURIWA stated that a government incapable of protecting schoolchildren in classrooms “has fundamentally failed” in its constitutional duty.

The rights group maintained that when the state can no longer secure its schools, it has essentially abandoned one of its most fundamental responsibilities, and must face the truth that it is governing without moral legitimacy.

HURIWA warned that Nigeria is dangerously drifting toward a situation where mass abductions of students are becoming routine, while official responses remain repetitive, defensive and out of touch with reality.

“The so-called school security interventions have clearly collapsed under the weight of implementation failure, corruption suspicion and lack of measurable outcomes,” the statement said.

“We demand, without equivocation, that the Federal Government and all affected state governments immediately come clean before Nigerians.

“They must provide a detailed, public accounting of all funds, grants, and donor-supported interventions expended on school safety initiatives over the years.

“Nigerians cannot continue to witness mass abductions while billions allegedly allocated for protection vanish into opaque bureaucratic channels with no visible impact on ground security.”

CAN, for its part, described the daylight invasion of schools by armed criminals, the murder of innocent citizens and the forceful abduction of defenceless children as a horrifying breakdown of security and a direct attack on the nation’s conscience.