Story by, Paul Mensah Nsor
More than 40 schoolchildren and teachers abducted in May by suspected Islamic militants in Nigeria’s southwestern Oyo State have been rescued and are receiving medical treatment, the state government confirmed Friday.
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde visited the victims at a military hospital on Saturday.
“They were happy to be out of captivity, just like any of us. When your freedom is taken away, it's a different set of minds. But they are glad to be back. Some of them are still very frail. They have to do quite a bit of medical intervention, post-traumatic issues, you know, to be addressed,” Makinde said after the visit.
The Nigerian Army said Saturday the pupils and staff were rescued following “carefully planned and executed” operations carried out with intelligence agencies, police and local vigilante groups. The operation, which lasted more than a month, targeted kidnappers’ networks and dismantled several hideouts in the forests of Old Oyo National Park.
The military said arrests across the country “completely disorganised the group” and led the militants to “unconditionally release” the hostages.
The army confirmed there were “casualties on the part of the security forces” during the rescue but did not provide details.
The shock kidnapping occurred in Oyo’s Oriire local government area and was blamed on militants from Ansaru, a Boko Haram splinter group known to operate in central Nigeria and extending into the southwest.
Defence Minister Christopher Musa said last week the kidnappers tried to use the students as “leverage” with the Nigerian government, which is holding some of their commanders. He added they threatened to kill the hostages if security forces moved in.
Senator Abdulfatai Buhari of Oyo State described the condition of the victims as distressing. “I was almost shedding tears yesterday when I saw them. It was mental torture,” he told AFP, noting that some of those taken were as young as two and three years old. “They were so frail,” he added.
The Oyo abductions marked an escalation of Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis, as most previous mass school abductions have occurred in the north. In the same week, dozens of children were kidnapped in Borno State, the epicenter of Nigeria’s long-running insurgency, and around 40 other schoolchildren were taken by gunmen there.
School abductions have become a recurring tactic by jihadist groups and armed gangs known as “bandits” to pressure authorities and demand ransoms. The most infamous case remains the April 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok by Boko Haram.
The Oyo incident sparked nationwide protests, a statewide teachers’ strike, and high-profile condemnation just months ahead of Nigeria’s January 2027 presidential elections. A spokesman for President Bola Tinubu on Saturday accused opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar of having “weaponised the kidnap as a campaign issue.”
Southwest Nigeria, home to economic capital Lagos, has long been considered one of the country’s safer regions. Oyo is one of Nigeria’s most populous states, with its capital Ibadan serving as a major education hub.
Governor Makinde said family visits are being organized for the rescued students, including for “a small girl in there that has been asking for her mother.” He stressed that medical and psychological support would continue.
Armed groups have long used mass school kidnappings to extract ransoms and press demands. A string of mass abductions in late 2025, including the kidnapping of two dozen schoolgirls in Kebbi State and about 300 students and teachers in Niger State, has drawn renewed international attention to Nigeria’s insecurity.
