The abduction of dozens of pupils and teachers from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State has triggered nationwide outrage, with protests spreading across several states and renewed calls by lawmakers for state police and broader security reforms.
Demonstrations were held in the Federal Capital Territory, Edo, Rivers, Cross River, Benue, Adamawa, Taraba, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Abia, Osun, Lagos, Niger, Kano, and other states as teachers, labour unions, students, and civil society groups demanded urgent government action.
The protests followed the May 15 attack in Ahoro-Esinle and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government Area, where armed men stormed three schools and abducted pupils and teachers, leaving families in distress.
The incident has revived memories of the Chibok and Dapchi school kidnappings, raising fresh concerns over the safety of schools across Nigeria.
Resuming plenary after the Sallah recess, the Senate on Tuesday observed a one-minute silence in honour of two teachers and a pupil killed during the attack.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the incident as an assault on Nigeria’s future and collective humanity.
“We resume our work under the mournful shadow of a tragedy that has shaken our nation. The abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State is not merely an attack on innocent citizens; it is an assault on our collective humanity,” he said.
Akpabio said the country’s future was threatened when children and teachers could no longer be protected.
“We mourn because if we cannot protect our children, we imperil our future. We mourn because a nation that cannot guarantee the safety of its teachers weakens the very foundations upon which education rests,” he added.
The Senate President paid tribute to mathematics teacher Michael Oyedokun, who reportedly died in captivity, Adesiyan Adegboye, who was killed during the attack, and a pupil who also lost his life.
Despite the tragedy, Akpabio expressed hope that security agencies would secure the release of those still in captivity and cautioned politicians against politicising the incident.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives called on the Federal Government and security agencies to ensure the immediate release of 42 students abducted from Mussa Ward in Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.
The lawmakers also demanded the urgent implementation of a comprehensive national Safe Schools Security Framework to protect educational institutions across the country.
The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Midala Balami, representing Askira-Uba/Hawul Federal Constituency.
“The safety of our children and the protection of education must remain a national priority. Our children deserve to learn in an environment free from fear,” Balami said.
The House further renewed calls for the decentralisation of policing, with lawmakers insisting that state police had become necessary to tackle growing insecurity.
Leading the debate, Ayodeji Alao-Akala, representing Ogbomosho North/Ogbomosho South/Orire Federal Constituency, described the killing of teacher Michael Oyedokun as barbaric and alarming.
He warned that forests around the Old Oyo National Park had become safe havens for criminal groups operating across state and international borders.
In Abuja, teachers protesting at the Federal Capital Territory Administration Secretariat demanded urgent government intervention.
Addressing the demonstrators, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, assured them that security agencies were working to rescue the abducted victims.
“We are all concerned about this security situation. The government is on its toes to ensure that those who are kidnapped are rescued,” Wike said.
He, however, urged Nigerians not to politicise insecurity, stressing that the challenge affected everyone.
In Lagos, teachers marched to the State House of Assembly where Speaker Mudashiru Obasa renewed calls for state policing, insisting that localised policing would improve security response.
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State also appealed for unity, describing the abduction as a moment of national distress.
“This is a time of national distress. It is not the time to trade blame. It is not the time to play politics,” Makinde said while addressing protesters led by the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, and National Association of Nigerian Students.
He disclosed that security forces and intelligence agencies were working to track the abductors and rescue the victims.
Across the country, teachers and labour unions intensified pressure on the government through solidarity rallies and advocacy campaigns.
In Ogun State, protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as “Set our teachers, pupils free from captivity” and “Nigeria, our blackboards are turning into graveyards.”
The National Vice-President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Titilope Adebanjo, warned that insecurity was threatening the future of education.
“Teachers are in the classes with fear, students are in the classes with fear. This is not supposed to be,” she said.
In Edo State, teachers marched through Benin City carrying placards reading “Teachers’ Lives Matter” and “The Classroom Must Not Become a Battlefield.”
The Edo NUT chairman, Lucky Imaruagheru, criticised what he described as government silence over the killings and kidnappings.
Teachers in Benue, Adamawa, Niger, Kano, and other states also joined the nationwide demonstrations, demanding immediate rescue of the abducted pupils and teachers.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools in Ogbomoso intensified advocacy efforts, insisting that the prolonged captivity of the victims was unacceptable.
The association said it had mobilised stakeholders for prayers, awareness campaigns, and engagement aimed at securing the release of the abducted victims.
The growing fear over school safety also triggered panic in Osun State after rumours of a bandit invasion spread across parts of the state, forcing many parents to withdraw their children from school temporarily.
Governor Ademola Adeleke later dismissed the reports as false and assured residents that schools remained safe.
The wave of protests came as the Nigeria Police Trust Fund urged the Senate to increase its statutory allocation from 0.5 per cent to one per cent to support modern policing infrastructure, including drones, surveillance systems, forensic laboratories, and digital intelligence tools.
The Executive Secretary of the Fund, Mohammed Sheidu, said the investment was necessary to combat kidnapping, terrorism, and organised crime across the country.
