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The Oyo State House of Assembly on Wednesday firmly rejected suggestions for the state government to negotiate with the bandits who abducted teachers and students during a coordinated attack at Ahoro-Esiele on Friday, May 15, 2026.
The lawmakers instead called for intensified rescue operations to secure the release of the victims.
This resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Johnson Ogundele, the lawmaker representing Oriire State Constituency, shortly after the House resumed from its Eid-el-Kabir recess.
Ogundele recounted that during the May 15 assault on the Ahoro-Esienle, Oyo, and Yawota communities, bandits invaded three schools during school hours, killing a teacher, a student, and a commercial motorcyclist, while abducting approximately 39 students and seven teachers.
The crisis escalated days later when the abductors killed Michael Oyedokun, one of the captured teachers.
Furthermore, Rachael Alamu, an abducted school principal, pleaded for an urgent negotiation in a recent Instagram video after the kidnappers threatened to kill another victim.
Nevertheless, Speaker Adebo Ogundoyin dismissed these calls for negotiation, warning that such a move would embolden criminal elements and encourage future attacks.
The Assembly highlighted growing insecurity in Oriire, which has faced repeated bandit activities since January, including an attack on the National Park Service office at Oloka village that killed five forest guards.
Kidnapping Now Threatens Urban Areas
Lawmakers urged Governor Seyi Makinde to scale up support for security agencies and establish a permanent military base around vulnerable communities and forest corridors.
They also directed educational boards to conduct immediate security audits of schools near forests and border settlements while calling for the installation of solar-powered lights, perimeter fencing, CCTV cameras, and a comprehensive emergency response framework.
During the plenary debate, Majority Leader Sanjo Adedoyin renewed calls for state police and urged the Nigerian government to remove all obstacles delaying its creation.
He argued that recent rescue operations exposed how conventional security agencies struggle in dense forests, forcing them to rely heavily on local vigilantes and the Amotekun Corps.
Lawmaker Gbenga Oyekola blamed the security challenges on the Nigerian government’s poor management of its expansive forest reserve, where residents have reported inadequate security despite sightings of unauthorised helicopter activity.
Meanwhile, Dawood Olalere noted that kidnapping now threatens urban areas as well, citing Wednesday’s abduction of Olaide John-Paul—the sister of former Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu—and her twin sons in the state capital of Ibadan.
