Government must bring the abducted children home, argues JOSHUA J. OMOJUWA
These are not the best of times. There is a two-year-old child in the bush somewhere in Oyo State. She was taken from a nursery school on May 15. She has been out there for nearly three weeks. She does not understand what ISWAP is. She does not understand migration routes or command structures. She understands cold, rain, and the absence of her mother. This two-year-old and the several others in the captivity of these terrorists are the latest victims of our country’s endless challenge with insecurity.
On May 15, 2026, over 40 teachers, pupils and students were kidnapped from three schools in Ogbomoso and Oriire communities of Oyo State: a Baptist Nursery and Primary School, a Community Grammar School, and an L.A. Primary School. This reportedly happened on the same day that 42 school children were abducted in Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State. A mathematics teacher, Mr Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded. An assistant headmaster was killed. An abducted vice principal, Mrs Alamu, recorded a distress video from the bush on the 13th day of captivity, kneeling and pleading for negotiation: “We are in the cold, we are under the sun and inside the rain, the children and adults as well. We are begging you.”
