Oyo lawmakers reject negotiations with kidnappers, demand victims’ rescue

The Oyo State House of Assembly on Wednesday rejected suggestions that the state government should negotiate with bandits who abducted teachers and students during the coordinated attack on Ahoro-Esiele in Oriire Local Government Area of the state on Friday, May 15, 2026. It called for intensified rescue operations to secure the release of victims abducted during the attack on communities in the area. The resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by the lawmaker representing Oriire State Constituency, Johnson Ogundele, during plenary shortly after the House resumed from the Eid-el-Kabir (Sallah) recess. The motion, titled “Urgent Need for the Executive Arm of Government Through Its Security Architecture to Proactively Nip in the Bud the Spike and Recurring Bandit Attacks on Oriire Communities Since the Beginning of 2026 and to Intensify Rescue and Manhunt Operations to Secure the Release of the Abductees of the Recent Attack on Esinele, Oyo and Yawota Communities,” highlighted growing insecurity in parts of the local government area. Presenting the motion, Ogundele recounted the May 15 attack on Ahoro-Esienle, Oyo and Yawota communities, where armed bandits invaded schools during school hours, killing a teacher, a student and an okada rider, while abducting dozens of students, pupils and teachers. The lawmaker expressed concern over recurring attacks in the area, saying: “Oriire had witnessed increasing bandit activities since January, including the attack on the National Park Service office at Oloka village where five forest guards were killed.” “Let me use this period to commend Governor Seyi Makinde for his swift response, deployment of security operatives, rescue efforts and personal visit to the affected communities. “I want to equally urge the state government to intensify support for security agencies and establish a permanent military base within and around vulnerable communities and forest corridors in the area,” he said. The Assembly also called on the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the State Universal Basic Education Board to immediately conduct security audits of schools located near forests and border settlements across the state. It said, “The Assembly also urges the government to expedite the installation of solar-powered security lights, perimeter fencing and CCTV cameras in vulnerable schools and to develop a comprehensive Safe School Emergency Response Protocol for public and private schools across Oyo.” “The Assembly equally rejects suggestions and calls that the state government should negotiate