Academic activities were on Monday paralysed in parts of Ogbomoso, Oyo State, as teachers downed tools and stormed the office of the State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) in a heated but peaceful protest over the abduction of seven teachers and an unspecified number of pupils in Oriire Local Government Area.
The protest, which grounded classroom operations across affected schools, followed the killing of one of the abducted teachers, a development that has thrown the education sector in the state into mourning and renewed fear.
Carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Save Our Schools,” “Bring Back Our Teachers,” and “Stop Killing Educators,” the protesting teachers marched through major streets of Ogbomoso before converging at the TESCOM office, demanding immediate and coordinated action to rescue the remaining victims.
The crisis stems from last week’s attack in Oriire Local Government Area, where armed men abducted seven teachers and several pupils in a raid that has continued to trigger outrage across the state’s education community.
Confirming the incident, the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, said one of the abducted teachers—reportedly a Mathematics teacher—was killed by the kidnappers, while efforts were ongoing to secure the release of others still in captivity.
“What we know right now is that seven teachers were abducted. Unfortunately, we received a video this morning indicating that one of the teachers, understood to be the Mathematics teacher, was killed by the terrorists,” Makinde said after a security review meeting in Ibadan on Sunday.
He expressed condolences to the bereaved family and assured residents that both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies had been activated to rescue the remaining victims.
The governor also disclosed that members of the rescue operation team, including soldiers, Amotekun operatives and local vigilantes, encountered improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted by the abductors during the mission, leaving several operatives injured.
According to him, the injured personnel are responding to treatment, adding that the government had taken full responsibility for their medical care.
Security sources said the coordinated operation involved the Amotekun Corps, military personnel and local hunters, who have since intensified search efforts in surrounding forests believed to be used as hideouts by the kidnappers.
Back in Ogbomoso, the protesting teachers insisted that repeated attacks on schools had made teaching and learning unsafe, warning that the continued targeting of educators could collapse the education system in the state if urgent action is not taken.
They called for strengthened security architecture around schools, permanent deployment of security operatives to vulnerable communities, and improved intelligence gathering to prevent further attacks.
One of the protest leaders said the killing of a teacher while others remain in captivity had crossed a red line, stressing that educators could no longer continue under fear and uncertainty.
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