Nigerian military blames Boko Haram for school abductions in Oyo State

The Nigerian military has confirmed that a recent wave of abductions targeting students and teachers in Oyo State, southern Nigeria, was orchestrated by Boko Haram militants.

In an official statement, a military spokesperson attributed the attacks to fighters from the Jama’at Ahl al-Sunnah li-l-Da’awah wa al-Jihad (JAS), the group widely recognized as Boko Haram. Authorities revealed that these assailants had shifted their operations southward after facing heavy resistance from intensified military campaigns in Nigeria’s northern regions.

The violent incursions struck on Friday in the towns of Yawota and Esiele, where heavily armed men stormed multiple educational institutions. Reports on the scale of the abductions vary: the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) cites 39 children and seven teachers taken hostage, whereas the governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, reports 25 students and seven educators kidnapped.

Security forces have launched urgent search operations to locate the victims, including children aged between 2 and 16 years, along with their teachers.

While school kidnappings have become alarmingly common in Nigeria’s northern territories, such incidents remain rare in Oyo State, whose capital, Ibadan, stands as a major educational hub in the country.

In response to the escalating threat, the Nigerian military, with assistance from American forces, has significantly escalated counterinsurgency efforts against jihadist factions in the north. Military pressure is believed to have pushed some militants toward southern regions, where they have now carried out these brazen attacks.

Recent joint airstrikes conducted in Nigeria’s northeast—the historical stronghold of Boko Haram—have reportedly resulted in the deaths of 175 jihadist fighters, according to military officials.

Over the past several months, armed groups have escalated their offensives, targeting both civilian populations and security personnel. Security analysts in Abuja estimate that at least 306 Nigerian soldiers have been killed in the first quarter of the year alone.