As Nigerians marked June 12 Democracy Day in celebration of freedom and democratic progress, Accord candidate for Oyo Central Senatorial District Wale Ajani said there was little to celebrate in Oyo State. He pointed to the continued captivity of 39 students and seven teachers abducted by armed men in Ahorо Esinle community, Oriire Local Government Area.
The victims were seized on May 15 after gunmen attacked one secondary school and two primary schools in the community. By June 12, they had spent 28 days in captivity. Ajani described their prolonged detention as a heartbreaking tragedy, a national embarrassment, and proof that democracy means nothing when innocent citizens are left at the mercy of criminals.
In a statement released to the media, he said the situation should shake the conscience of every responsible leader and patriotic Nigerian. He called it cruel and unacceptable that while the nation celebrates freedom, dozens of schoolchildren and their teachers have been denied theirs for nearly a month.
Ajani lamented that with each passing day, the pain of the parents deepens, fear in the community grows, and the trauma suffered by the victims becomes more unbearable. He argued that the abduction was not just a security incident but a human catastrophe that had thrown families into anguish and cast a shadow over Democracy Day celebrations in Oyo State.
“This is not the meaning of June 12,” he said. “How can we speak of democracy and freedom when 39 students and seven teachers have been in captivity since May 15? How do parents celebrate while their children are missing? How do teachers’ families rejoice while their loved ones remain in the hands of armed men? This is painful. This is shameful. This is intolerable.”
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He described the continued captivity as a direct attack on education, human dignity, and the collective conscience of the nation. Ajani urged the Federal Government, Oyo State Government, security agencies, and all relevant authorities to move beyond routine statements and act with urgency to secure the safe rescue of the abducted.
He warned that 28 days in captivity was far too long and that every extra day of delay increased the danger to their lives and deepened public frustration. “On a day Nigeria remembers the struggle for liberty, children in Oriire are still in bondage,” he said. “For 28 days, families have cried. For 28 days, parents have waited. For 28 days, fear has ruled where peace should reign. This is a stain on our humanity and a test of our government’s responsibility.”
Ajani also called on community leaders, religious bodies, civil society groups, and the media to keep raising their voices until the victims are rescued, insisting the matter must not be forgotten or reduced to another passing headline.
He said Democracy Day should be more than speeches and ceremonies. It should be a moment to confront painful truths about insecurity and the failure to protect vulnerable communities and schools.
“Until these children and teachers regain their freedom, this Democracy Day remains incomplete,” he said. “June 12 must not just be about remembering past struggles. It must also be about acting now to save lives, defend the innocent, and prove that freedom still has meaning in Nigeria.”
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