The Yoruba Council of Elders, YCE, has condemned the coordinated abduction of over 45 pupils, students and teachers from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area, Oyo State, on Friday, 15th May, 2026.
The affected schools are Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yaworan, Community Grammar School, Esiele, and L. A. Primary School.
In a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Chief Oladipo Oyewole, Yoruba Elders described the attack as “not just a crime against Oyo State, but an assault on the conscience of Nigeria, on the future of the Southwest, and on the sacred right of every child to learn in safety.”
The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organization said schools must never become hunting grounds for kidnappers and bandits.
“In the face of this ugly occurrence, we call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to immediately deploy special forces, intelligence assets, and logistics support to ensure the safe and unconditional release of all abducted victims,” the statement said.
YCE further called on the Governors of the six Southwest states – Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti and Lagos – to rise above partisan boundaries and deploy all available strategic resources through inter-state cooperation to secure lives and property.
“Without gainsaying, Yorubaland cannot afford to become the next frontier of mass abduction,” the Council stated.
The group said the Oyo incident is a symptom of a deeper national security crisis, and therefore, called for the strengthening of community and regional security architecture across Yorubaland.
YCE urged Southwest governments to immediately provide necessary materials for the Amotekun Corps, give them more training, better equipment, and legal backing for intelligence-led operations.
The Council also said it is necessary at this period for the six governors to recognize the statutory roles of the office of the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, alongside the contributions of Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, in promoting peace in Yorubaland.
“The six Southwest governors should therefore engage them, along with similar indigenous security groups and other well-meaning persons and organizations in the Southwest, to spread their dragnet in the protection of our territories,” YCE said.
The group further called on the Governor of Oyo State to quickly establish a joint security task force for real-time intelligence sharing across the six states to prevent cross-border movement of criminals.
YCE also recommended the deployment of Armed School Protection Units in high-risk Local Government Areas, especially those bordering forest reserves.
“Our children all over Yorubaland are not to be used as collateral damage. Every day we delay on this decisive action, we may lose another child’s future and another parent’s peace of mind,” the statement added.
The Council said it stands with the families of the abducted students and sympathizes with the family of the Mathematics teacher who was reportedly killed by the bandits during the attack.
YCE prayed that the Almighty God would grant all those directly affected strength and fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
The abductions have renewed calls for urgent reforms in school security and regional collaboration across the Southwest.