Nearly three weeks after armed bandits stormed three schools in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, the Federal Government has signalled that rescuing the remaining victims alive remains its overriding priority, even as pressure mounts for more decisive military action against the perpetrators.

Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, made the government’s position clear during an appearance on Arise TV, acknowledging the difficult trade-offs at the heart of the rescue operation. “It would be easier to wipe out the forest via kinetic action but the lives of those kids are the priority, so we have tough choices to make,” he said, adding that security forces are working “in the air and on land” to secure the release of the victims as soon as possible.

The crisis began on May 15, 2026, when heavily armed men riding motorcycles simultaneously raided Baptist Nursery and Primary School in Yawota, Community Grammar School in Esiele, and L.A. Primary School all within the Ahoro-Esiele/Yawota axis of Oriire LGA. At least 45 pupils and teachers were abducted in the coordinated attack, with two people killed in the initial assault, including an assistant headmaster identified as Joel Adesiyan. The tragedy deepened days later when a video circulated online allegedly showing mathematics teacher Michael Oyedokun being killed in captivity, prompting nationwide outrage and a formal condemnation from President Tinubu.

The Federal Government’s response has since escalated significantly. President Tinubu dispatched a high-powered delegation to Ogbomoso, led by Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila and comprising National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu, Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa, and Sunday Dare himself. The delegation visited the affected communities, met with local leaders including the Soun of Ogbomoso, HRM Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye, and paid condolences to the widow of the slain teacher. Gbajabiamila delivered a message from the President assuring the community that the operation would be “intelligence-led and carefully coordinated, deploying both kinetic and non-kinetic measures” to bring the victims home safely.

Dare has also defended the government’s timeline, pushing back against criticism that the Presidency was slow to respond. He maintained that a presidential statement condemning the attack was issued within 24 hours and that security agencies were mobilised immediately, though he acknowledged that much of the operational activity could not be disclosed publicly for tactical reasons. Security operatives have reportedly been tracking the kidnappers within the Old Oyo National Park forest belt, a vast and rugged terrain that has complicated rescue efforts.

On the ground, the crisis has triggered a wave of civic unrest. The Nigeria Union of Teachers directed all public primary and secondary school teachers in Oyo State to begin an indefinite strike from June 1, 2026, until the abducted colleagues and pupils are safely returned. Nationwide solidarity rallies organised by the NUT also took place across all state capitals on Tuesday, June 2. Teachers and education stakeholders in Ogbomoso held a solidarity walk, converging at Ogbomoso High School in a show of collective grief and demand for urgent action. Prayer sessions have been scheduled across the city for both Christian and Muslim communities.

The incident has reignited a broader national conversation about the safety of schools, particularly in the forest-border communities of southern Nigeria. For the families still waiting including the husband of abducted teacher Mary Akanbi, who publicly begged the kidnappers to take him in place of his wife and their 18-month-old baby words of reassurance from Abuja offer only limited comfort.

The government, for its part, insists the operation is live and progressing, even if it cannot say so openly.