Nigeria’s worsening insecurity has once again come under the spotlight after gunmen invaded a secondary school in Oyo State, abducting a principal and several students while shooting a teacher in broad daylight — the latest in a growing wave of attacks exposing what critics describe as government failure to protect citizens and schools.
The attack occurred on Friday at Community High School in Ahoro-Esinele community, Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, where armed men stormed the school premises during class hours and kidnapped the school principal, Mrs. Rachael Alamu, alongside an unspecified number of students.
The incident, which reportedly happened between 8:00am and 9:00am, threw the agrarian community into panic as residents lamented the absence of adequate security presence in the area.
The Oyo State Police Command confirmed the attack in a statement issued by its spokesperson, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka.
According to the police, the attackers operated for several minutes without resistance before escaping into a forest reserve bordering the community.
A teacher was also shot during the invasion, although authorities did not immediately disclose the severity of the injury.
Residents accused the government of neglecting rural communities, noting that the nearest police station was far from the school, causing delays in emergency response.
“The gunmen fled the scene with the principal in her vehicle and escaped into a forest reserve bordering the community,” the police said.
The latest incident has intensified public outrage over repeated attacks on schools and the apparent inability of security agencies to prevent mass abductions despite years of similar incidents across the country.
Over the past several years, schools in Nigeria — particularly in rural communities — have increasingly become soft targets for terrorists, bandits, and armed criminal gangs who abduct students and teachers for ransom.
In November 2025, gunmen invaded St. Mary’s Papiri Private Catholic Secondary School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, abducting students and teachers during a midnight raid.
The Oyo attack also revives memories of several high-profile school abductions that shocked the country, including the kidnapping of more than 270 students from Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara State, in 2021, and the abduction of students from Greenfield University in Kaduna State the same year.
In February 2024, armed men also abducted scores of internally displaced persons and students in Borno State, while communities in Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto, and Katsina states have repeatedly suffered deadly raids despite repeated government assurances that insecurity was being contained.
Beyond schools, ordinary Nigerians continue to face kidnappings and violent attacks on highways, farms, and even within residential communities, further fueling concerns over the government’s capacity to secure lives and property.
Critics have repeatedly accused federal and state authorities of reacting to attacks after they occur rather than implementing proactive intelligence and security measures to prevent them.
Although the Oyo State Police Command said the Commissioner of Police had ordered the deployment of tactical teams and other security operatives to the area for rescue operations, authorities had yet to confirm contact with the kidnappers or disclose whether ransom demands had been made.
As of the time of filing this report, the abducted principal and students remained in captivity, with their whereabouts unknown.
