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Suspected terrorists who abducted schoolchildren and teachers from three schools in southwestern Nigeria eight days ago have opened communication with the state government, insisting they will negotiate only with the governor, sources said on Saturday.
The gunmen attacked the schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State on May 15, seizing pupils, including toddlers aged two and three, along with several teachers.
“They said they only want to talk to the governor and nobody else,” a source told Punch, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The condition was given for negotiation, the source said, adding that the abductors’ demands remain unknown.
“That was the condition they gave for negotiation. So, nobody knows the details and what they are demanding.”
A top source described the development as a relief, saying, “It is not that security agencies don’t know what to do. But the risks are too high. The relief is that at least now, they are talking.”
According to the Punch report, Abayomi Fagbenro, Governor Seyi Makinde‘s special adviser on security, declined to comment, stating, “I can’t give any information at the moment.”
Two teachers have been confirmed dead since the attack. Joel Adesiyan, an assistant headmaster, was killed during the abduction.
Another teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded in captivity, a video released by the abductors showed.
Oyedokun’s family said he died without a child despite being married for more than 10 years.
“The most painful part is that he did not leave any child behind. He had a wife but they did not have any child,” family spokesperson Ebeni Adediran said.
Adesiyan was buried on Friday in Ogbomoso. Governor Makinde, represented at the funeral, said the government was “doing all within its capacity” to secure the release of remaining captives.
School attendance has collapsed across Ogbomoso and neighbouring communities, with many parents refusing to send their children to class.
“All the schools, both private and public, in Ogbomoso have been empty since Monday. Pupils stopped attending school after the Esinele attacks,” a teacher at Ikose Primary School told Punch.
“The matter became worse on Tuesday when some students at Areago Grammar School saw some men in the bush around them hunting squirrels.
“The students, because of the Esinele incident, raised the alarm that there were terrorists on the school premises. That led to pandemonium, and everybody started running helter-skelter. One of the pupils was knocked down by a vehicle around the Owode area of Ogbomoso, and he died instantly. His mother also died from shock after hearing about the death of her son. Ogbomoso was turned upside down on Tuesday.”
She added, “On Wednesday, only private schools had a few pupils, far below normal attendance. But pupils in public schools did not go at all. All the teachers in my school and other areas in Ogbomoso, Esinele, Yamota, Ikose, Ikoyi, Tewure and others had to return home around 12pm.
“The situation became worse on Thursday; the number of teachers and pupils also dropped across the area. We didn’t see any students, while many teachers also did not show up. We left school before 11am.”
