President Bola Tinubu on Monday expressed deep concern over the reported killing of a teacher abducted during a raid on a community in Oyo State, and pledged Federal Government support for an ongoing rescue operation aimed at freeing students and staff seized.
The attack occurred Friday in Esiele, a community in Oriire Local Government Area, when assailants overran Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School and L.A. Primary School.
Officials say pupils, students and several school employees were taken.
A statement by the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the Presisent Bayo Onanuga, Security forces from the Police and other agencies have been conducting round‑the‑clock operations to locate and free the captives and to arrest suspects believed to have aided the attackers.
“I am saddened by the reported killing of one of the teachers kidnapped by the gunmen who invaded the community,” President Tinubu said in the statement.
He extended condolences to Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde, the State, and the victims’ families, and praised rapid deployments by the Inspector‑General of Police and police commissioners in Oyo and neighbouring Kwara State.
The President said the IGP, acting on his instructions, is personally overseeing a technology‑driven operation led by an Intelligence Response Team that he predicted would yield a “breakthrough soon.”
“The bandits and all their local collaborators will be fished out and made to face the full wrath of the law,” the statement read.
President Tinubu used the incident to renew a long‑running federal appeal for policing reform, saying the spate of kidnappings highlights the need to create state police forces to better secure underserved communities.
“The National Assembly should accelerate the enactment of the law creating state police,” he said.
The assault on Esiele is the latest in a string of abductions that have put pressure on both State and the Federal Government to boost security in rural areas.
NewsQuest reports that President Tinubu administration has emphasized intelligence‑led operations and greater coordination with state governments as part of its response to insecurity across the country.
