Protests broke out across Borno, Oyo, and Ogun states as teachers and residents demanded urgent action over a wave of school abductions and rising insecurity.
Borno: Anger over govt silence on 48 pupils kidnapped
Residents of Mussa community, Askira Uba LGA, are upset over the Federal Government’s silence since 48 basic school pupils were abducted. CSO Chairman Abubakar Suleiman said Abuja sent a high-powered delegation to Oyo after a similar incident, but no delegation has visited Borno for multiple abductions including 416 people kidnapped in Ngoshe on May 3 and 42 students taken on May 16. _“This doesn’t demonstrate that the Federal Government is treating victims equally,”_ he said, calling for intensified search-and-rescue operations.
Oyo: Schools shut as teachers protest Ahoro-Esiele abductions
Public schools across Oyo’s 33 LGAs shut down yesterday after the Nigeria Union of Teachers directed a nationwide protest. The shutdown followed the abduction of students and teachers in Ahoro-Esiele, Oriire LGA. In Ibadan, the Take-It-Back Movement marched from Mokola Roundabout through Gate, with placards reading _“Security for all, not for a few”_ and _“Government must end kidnapping in Oyo State”_. Only final-year students writing exams were allowed in school.
Ogun: Residents march in Abeokuta
In Abeokuta, youths and nursing mothers protested the kidnapping of 39 pupils and 7 teachers in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, plus worsening national insecurity. Demonstrators carried placards like _“The crime they committed is they went to school, release our children and teachers”_ and _“Our future is crying for help”_. Pastor Juwon Owolabi said _“residents could no longer sleep well as they do not know who the next victim will be”_. One abducted teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was reportedly killed by the terrorists.
The coordinated protests reflect growing frustration over school safety and perceived unequal government response to abductions in different regions.