A hired worker in Yawota community, Oyo State, Aduke Balogun, has appealed to the government to rescue her ward, Kehinde Kaosarat, 14 days after terrorists abducted scores of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area.
Balogun made the appeal during a solidarity visit by the Oriire Youth Council to affected families in Esinele and Yawota. The visit was captured in a video posted by the Facebook page Oriire ni tiwa and went viral on Friday.
“I am the father of the child and the mother of the child. Her parents are not here. Me too, I have no one. I came here as a hired worker,” she said in Yoruba, translated by PUNCH Online.
She recalled how the attack unfolded around 9am on May 15. “We bathed our children. They went to school. After 9am, we saw some people dressed like soldiers. Before we knew it, we started hearing gunshots. Everybody started running around. I saw my daughter, Kaosarat, but lost her in the chaos,” Balogun said.
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Another parent, Madam Agnes, described how residents fled into the bush as the gunmen opened fire. The Elesinele of Esinele, Tajudeen Abioye, confirmed that kidnappers took pupils, teachers, and the principal, adding that the community had been thrown into fear.
The attackers targeted Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School, Ahoro-Esinele; and L.A. Primary School in Oriire LGA. Among those abducted was mathematics teacher Michael Oyedokun, who was later killed by the gunmen, while Vice Principal Mrs Alamu Folawe remains in captivity.
The Defence Headquarters said the attackers were JAS terrorists dislodged from the North-East. While the abductors have opened communication with the Oyo State government, they have refused to negotiate with families, insisting on speaking only with Governor Seyi Makinde.
Special Adviser on Security, Abayomi Fagbenro, has dismissed claims on social media that the hostages have been released, calling them false.
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