Friday Morning, 15 May 2026. Oriire Local Government, Oyo State.

The children were in their classrooms. The teachers were at their boards. It was a normal school morning — the kind that has happened millions of times across Nigeria without incident. At Community High School in Ahoro-Esinele, Mrs. Folawe Alamu, the principal, was going about her duties. At Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School, a two-year-old girl named Christianah Akanbi was somewhere in the nursery section, probably playing, probably learning, probably doing whatever two-year-olds do when they feel safe. At L.A. Primary School in Esiele, lessons were underway.

Then the gunmen came. Riding motorcycles. Armed. Coordinated. They hit three schools simultaneously — Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School in Yawota, and L.A. Primary School in Esiele. The Punch reported that the attack began around 9:30 a.m. When it was over, an assistant headmaster named Joel Adesiyan was dead. A commercial motorcyclist who resisted having his bike seized was shot dead. And 46 people — seven teachers and 39 pupils and students — had been dragged into the forest.

Let those numbers sit for a moment. Thirty-nine children. Seven teachers. One of them was Michael Oyedokun. He taught Mathematics.


Sunday, 17 May. The Video Arrived.

Two days after the abduction, the kidnappers released a video. The Eagle Online confirmed that the footage showed Oyedokun tied up, forced to speak, pleading for his life. Then the video ended. Oyedokun was beheaded. He was a Mathematics teacher. He went to work on Friday morning to teach children algebra and geometry, and by Sunday evening, his family had lost him forever.

The Punch obtained the video via Telegram on Monday. Governor Seyi Makinde confirmed the killing through his Special Adviser on Media, Dr. Suleimon Olanrewaju. "What we know right now is that seven teachers in all were abducted. And, unfortunately, we got a video this morning that one of the teachers, I understand, the mathematics teacher, was killed by the terrorists," the statement read.

The governor also disclosed that the rescue operation had already claimed more victims. Soldiers, Amotekun Corps operatives, and local vigilantes who tracked the kidnappers into the forest ran into Improvised Explosive Devices planted by the abductors. Several were wounded. Some did not return.

Arise TV reported that six suspects have been arrested within the locality — alleged informants and logistics suppliers to the kidnappers. Three additional "persons of interest" were picked up by another security outfit. But the children are still out there. The teachers are still out there. Mrs. Folawe Alamu, the principal, appeared in a separate distress video from captivity, pleading with the Federal Government, the Oyo State Government, the Christian Association of Nigeria, and anyone who would listen to secure their release without the use of force.


The Names Behind the Numbers

The Eagle Online and Vanguard published the full community-compiled list of the 46 missing. These are not statistics. These are human beings:

The teachers: Mrs. Alamu Folawe, Principal. Mr. Ojo Jonathan, Vice Principal. Mr. Olatunde Zacchaeus. Mr. John Olaleye. Mr. Michael Oyedokun — now confirmed dead. Mrs. Oladeji. Mary Akanbi of Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School.


The children from Ahoro-Esinele Community:

  1. Rashida Tajudeen, 11.
  2. Ahmed Ramoni, 8.
  3. Abdulsalam Toyib, 4.
  4. Baraka Abioye, 16.
  5. Fatimo Jimoh, 15.
  6. Hassan Azeez, 14.
  7. Joshua Adeleke, 13.

From Yawota Community:

  1. Samuel Oyedele, 7.
  2. Emmanuel Oyedele, 4.
  3. Idowu Taiwo, 4.
  4. Christianah Akanbi, 2 years old.
  5. Juwon Sunday, 7.
  6. Sikiru Salami, 3.
  7. Soliu Salami, 4.
  8. Ojo Joseph, 8.
  9. Lydia Adewole, 8.
  10. Testimony Jacob, 5.
  11. Kehinde Kaosara, 7.
  12. Sewa Seyi, 7.
  13. Waliya Bello, 4.
  14. Lydia Olohunloluwa, 7.
  15. Damilare Oderinde, 8.
  16. Deborah Adebowale, 5.
  17. Aisha Oguntowo, 10.
  18. Lege Taiwo, 12.
  19. Balkis Ayanwale, 8.
  20. Asa David, 10.

From Oniya and Alawusa communities:

  1. Shuaibu Aliyu, 10.
  2. Ahmed Aliyu, 7.
  3. Muiz Aliyu, 5.
  4. Jomiloju Ogunlola, 6.
  5. Agune Noah, 8.
  6. Elizabeth Abadi, 5.
  7. Tosin Abadi, 9.
  8. Pius Stephen, 5.
  9. Hannah Ojo, 14.
  10. Habidat Ayanwale, 7.
  11. Mary Gabriel, 6.
  12. Jacob Gabriel.

A two-year-old. Multiple four-year-olds. Five-year-olds. A Mathematics teacher who will never solve another equation. A principal still in captivity. A vice principal still in captivity. Families in Ogbomoso who have not slept properly since Friday.


I Am a Mall Manager. I Think About Safety Every Day.

My name is Kingsley Nweke, but everyone calls me King. I am the Events and Activation Officer at Banex Mall. I am not a journalist. I am not a security analyst. I am not a politician. I run a building in Lekki where 140+ businesses operate, where families watch films, where children attend summer bootcamp, where worshippers gather on Sundays.

When I read about what happened in Oriire, I did not react as a content creator looking for a trending topic. I reacted as someone who is responsible for the safety of every person who walks through our doors. At Banex Mall, we have 24/7 security. We brief our security team before every major event. We test backup generators 48 hours in advance. We map parking flows. We coordinate with local law enforcement. We do all of this not because we are paranoid, but because we are responsible for too many people to be careless.

A school is supposed to be the safest place in any community. It is where parents send their children and believe, with good reason, that they will return home. When that contract is broken — when a classroom becomes a crime scene and a Mathematics teacher is beheaded for the crime of showing up to work — something deeper than security has collapsed. Trust has collapsed. And trust, once broken, is the hardest thing in the world to rebuild.


The Country Responded. But Responses Are Not Rescues.

President Bola Tinubu condemned the killing as "barbaric." In a statement issued by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, the President said: "I am saddened by the reported killing of one of the teachers kidnapped by the gunmen who invaded the community. The bandits and all their local collaborators will be fished out and made to face the full wrath of the law." The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, was deployed to Oriire to personally supervise what the Presidency described as a "tech-driven operation." The Defence Headquarters confirmed that troops had made contact with the abductors and were pursuing them through forest corridors.

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, called the attack "a direct assault on the future of the country." The Christian Association of Nigeria condemned the abductions and demanded urgent action. The Nigeria Labour Congress, through its president Joe Ajaero, warned that "no community is safe anymore" and that "continued attacks on schools and communities threatened national stability and public trust." The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria expressed outrage. Afenifere declared that "terrorists must not have a place in Yorubaland." The People's Redemption Party renewed its call for state police. Teachers in Ogbomoso shut down classrooms and marched to the TESCOM office with placards demanding safer learning environments.

Governor Makinde signed an Executive Order on security. He deployed newly acquired surveillance aircraft. He said the government was ready to listen to the abductors' demands but would not pay ransom. He described the situation as "fluid and difficult."

Then former Vice President Atiku Abubakar issued a statement that cut through the official language like a blade. "At a time when armed criminals are abducting schoolchildren, slaughtering innocent citizens, and turning communities into graveyards, President Tinubu's response remains the same tired ritual: condemn the killings, threaten that the perpetrators will face the 'full wrath of the law,' and then wait for the next massacre. Nigerians have heard this script too many times. It has become painfully predictable and utterly meaningless."

Atiku's words were harsh. They were also, for millions of Nigerians watching this tragedy unfold from a distance, painfully accurate. The Punch reported his full statement: "When terrorists can invade schools, abduct children and teachers, butcher pregnant women, sack entire communities, and disappear without consequence, it is because the authority of the state has collapsed."

I am not endorsing any candidate. I do not do politics. But I understand what it feels like when the people responsible for protecting you issue statements instead of solutions. I learned that feeling in Alaba International Market, where I once processed an order worth ₦180,000, the buyer transferred ₦180 instead, and I had to run through the market to track him to F-Line before he could vanish. After that day, I stopped trusting words. I started trusting systems. Receipts. Serial numbers. Signed test videos. Two-step sign-off. The lesson was permanent: a promise without a process is just noise.


Oyo Is Bleeding. But Nigeria Cannot Afford to Go Numb.

There is a dangerous emotional fatigue spreading across this country. People are grieving constantly. Terror attacks. Kidnappings. School abductions. Economic hardship. Violence. Loss. At some point, many Nigerians stop reacting publicly — not because they do not care, but because they are emotionally overwhelmed. The Nigeria Labour Congress captured this precisely: "About a week ago when an estimated 39 pupils and seven teachers were taken away, the general reaction, possibly, was a shrug — oh, it has happened again."

That shrug is the enemy. That shrug is what allows the next attack to happen without the outrage it deserves. That shrug is what tells a parent in Ogbomoso that the rest of the country has already moved on. We cannot afford to become numb. We cannot normalise children disappearing from schools. We cannot normalise teachers dying simply for trying to educate children. We cannot normalise fear becoming part of everyday Nigerian life.

At Banex Mall, Victory HolyGhost Mission — one of our church tenants — has been offering prayers for Oyo State, for the abducted children, and especially for the family of Michael Oyedokun. I am not here to preach. But I understand that in moments like this, many Nigerians instinctively turn toward something larger than themselves. Sometimes prayer is simply humanity refusing to surrender completely to darkness. Sometimes it is communities gathering together because silence feels too painful. Sometimes it is people admitting that words alone are not enough for tragedies like this.


What We Owe the Families Still Waiting

The internet will eventually move on. Another trending topic will come. Another controversy will dominate timelines. Another distraction will appear. But Professor Wole Alamu, the husband of the kidnapped principal Mrs. Folawe Alamu, gave an interview to Eagle 102.5 FM on Tuesday. He said rescue efforts were ongoing, but pleaded with the public and the media to exercise restraint in discussing security strategies, warning that "careless disclosures could undermine efforts to free the victims." He said: "We are going to grant interview, but not now. The work is seriously being done underneath. Anything you say now may jeopardise the rescue operations."

That is the voice of a man whose wife is still in a forest, surrounded by armed men, waiting to be rescued. That is the voice of someone who has not slept properly in six days. That is the voice of someone who still has hope, because hope is sometimes the only thing left when the state has failed you and the statements have stopped meaning anything.

The children are still out there. The teachers are still out there. Christianah Akanbi, two years old, is still out there. The families in Ogbomoso are still waiting. The colleagues of Michael Oyedokun are still mourning. The security operatives wounded by IEDs are still recovering.


Oyo is bleeding. And Nigeria must not look away.


What do you think needs to change — genuinely, structurally — to prevent the next attack? Have you ever felt that emotional numbness creeping in after too many headlines like this one? Tell me in the comments. I read every single one.