Nigeria rescues schoolchildren, teachers abducted in Oyo: Presidency
The students and teachers were abducted on May 15 when armed men targeted multiple schools in Oyo's Oriire district
An empty street in the Esinle community, where pupils and teachers were abducted in a large-scale school attack, in Oyo State, Nigeria, June 2, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun/File Photo
At least 39 schoolchildren and six teachers kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria's southwestern Oyo state nearly two months ago have been rescued by security forces, a presidential spokesperson said on Friday.
- The students and teachers were abducted on May 15 when armed men targeted multiple schools in Oyo's Oriire district.
- Oyo officials had said one of the abducted teachers was killed in captivity.
- In a statement, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said eight kidnappers were arrested and are in custody.
- The statement quoted President Bola Tinubu saying his government "will get justice for these children and their teachers" and the family of the teacher "who the terrorists gruesomely murdered."
- Mass kidnappings by armed groups have become a major security challenge in Nigeria in recent years, with criminal gangs exploiting weak security and porous borders to target travelers, students and rural communities for cash and in-kind payments.
- Schools are often targeted, although such attacks are less frequent in the southwest of the country.
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