A viral video shows the abducted principal pleading for rescue as militants raise their demands and threaten the hostages.
ORIIRE, Oyo State — Forty-five schoolchildren and teachers — including toddlers — remain in captivity after a coordinated May 15 raid in Oriire, Oyo State, as terrorists demand ₦1bn, vehicles, and prisoner release in one of the Southwest’s most brazen abductions.
Gunmen stormed three rural schools in Oriire that morning, rounding up pupils, toddlers, and teachers before forcing them into the surrounding forest — an operation security officials say was carried out with military‑style precision.
Security officials and community leaders say the attackers are part of armed groups linked to Fulani militia networks that have carried out a series of raids across Oyo and neighboring states in recent months, targeting schools, farms, and rural settlements.
A viral video shows the abducted principal of Community High School, Mrs. Folawe Alamu, pleading with authorities to negotiate.
The abductors demanded ₦20 million ($31,750) per student and insist military actions cease, threatening harsher treatment for captives whenever rescue operations are anticipated.
Kidnappers’ Demands
1. ₦1 billion ($1.59 million USD) payment to a Benin Republic account.
2. Release of bandits held in Agodi and Abolongo Prisons.
3. Two Toyota Hilux vehicles.
4. Concession of certain Oyo State laws to favor the kidnappers.
Defense Analyst: Government Lacks a Strategy
Defense analysts warned that meeting kidnappers’ demands could embolden criminal networks and set a dangerous precedent.
Colonel Ibrahim Musa, retired Nigerian Army combatant officer and security consultant based in Kano criticized the federal DRR program as ineffective in stopping killings in North-Central Nigeria and failing to curb the spread of Fulani ethnic militia terror into the southwest.
“If the federal government had truly introduced strategies to neutralize terrorists and secure known terror zones, these killings and kidnappings would not be happening at this scale,” Musa told TruthNigeria reporter in a chat.
“The DRR program has clearly failed”, Musa exclaimed.
The DRR is Nigeria’s programme to disarm terrorists, rehabiliate them and reintegrate them into society. It has become controversial as terror attacks and criminal networks expand.
Musa explained, “Militia groups now feel emboldened to make outrageous demands, showing the program cannot prevent attacks.”
Musa noted, “Yielding to these demands is not a solution – it only incentivizes more kidnappings and strengthens criminal networks.”
Dr. Adebayo Olufemi, defense and security analyst at the Centre for Strategic Studies, Ibadan, stressed the astronomical cost per victim and questioned why militants demand arms and vehicles under the guise of ‘peace.’
Olufemi urged increased foreign collaboration: “Although there is a security pact with the U.S., giving American forces more operational inclusion could help neutralize these networks efficiently and prevent further terror spread.”
Legislature Rejects Ransom Payment
The Oyo State House of Assembly rejected calls for negotiation or ransom payment.
Speaker Adebo Ogundoyin emphasized that conceding to criminal demands would incentivize future school raids.
Lawmakers demanded a forceful kinetic approach, including establishing a permanent military base in Oriire and conducting comprehensive security audits of rural schools.
President Bola Tinubu approved the immediate recruitment of 1,000 forest rangers for Oyo State to hunt bandits hiding in the Old Oyo National Park.
Current Status of Captives
Approximately 39 pupils and seven teachers: including toddlers as young as two, remain in captivity.
Casualties include assistant headmaster Joel Adegboye Adesiyan, killed during the initial raid, and mathematics teacher Michael Oyedokun, murdered two days later.
False reports claiming the victims had been freed were debunked by the Oyo State Police Command.
Assistant Superintendent of Police ASP Olayinka Oyelade confirmed that intensive ground and aerial searches remain ongoing.
Legislative Oversight and Recommendations
Oriire State Constituency lawmaker Johnson Ogundele presented a motion highlighting rising banditry in January 2026, including a prior attack on the National Park Service office where five forest guards were killed.
The Assembly urged the Ministry of Education and State Universal Basic Education Board to:
1. Conduct school security audits.
2. Install solar-powered lights, perimeter fencing, CCTV cameras.
3. Implement a Safe School Emergency Response Protocol.
4. Lawmakers also called for recruitment of additional Amotekun Corps (a state-level security and intelligence network in Southwestern Nigeria) personnel – Oyo State’s regional security network—establishment of permanent military presence, and expedited state police formation.
5. They also emphasized community policing, intelligence gathering, and structural security reforms.
Speaker Ogundoyin reiterated that negotiating with terrorists could embolden criminal networks, urging residents to support ongoing rescue operations while sustaining intelligence-driven security efforts.
http://www.punchng.com/oyo-lawmakers-reject-negotiations-with-kidnappers-demand-victims-rescue/
Conclusion: DRR has not stopped killings
The Oyo school kidnappings expose the failure of Nigeria’s DRR program to curb the spread of Fulani militia terror.
Retired Air Commodore Darlington Abdullahi, disarmament and reintegration expert, Lagos, said: “The federal program has not stopped these killings.”
“Militias now make outrageous ransom and arms demands”, Abdullahi noted.
Abdullahi concluded: “Without strong security measures and international support, ransom-based approaches only perpetuate cycles of violence.”
State and federal governments face mounting pressure to protect vulnerable communities while balancing rescue operations with broader national security strategies.
Onibiyo Segun reports on terrorism and conflict for TruthNigeria.
