The Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) has condemned the abduction of pupils, students, and teachers from Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School, Esiele; and L.A. Primary School in Oriire Local Council of Oyo State. The group described the attack as a grave assault on education and humanity.
YCE Warns Against Kidnapping Hub
In a statement by its Secretary-General, Oladipo Oyewole, the YCE warned that Yorubaland must not be allowed to become a haven or frontier for mass abductions and banditry. The elders' council described the coordinated attacks on the schools as “barbaric and unacceptable.”
The YCE said the incident was not only a crime against Oyo State but also an attack on the collective conscience of the nation. The group urged governors in the South-West to deepen inter-state security cooperation and mobilize all available resources to strengthen security across the region.
Archbishop Condemns Killing of Teacher
Similarly, the Archbishop of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province, Most Rev’d (Dr) Williams Oluwarotimi Aladekugbe, condemned the abduction. He described the act as barbaric and uncivilized, and also condemned the gruesome, wicked, ungodly, and inhuman way one of the abducted teachers was killed.
The condemnation was contained in a statement signed by the Ibadan North Anglican Diocesan Communicator, Ayoade Solomon Olugbemiga, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The cleric sympathized with the parents of the pupils and families of the abducted teachers, especially the teacher who was gruesomely murdered.
He stated: ”The heartfelt sympathy of the Archbishop also goes to the government of Oyo State, Oriire Local Council, and the entire people of the state for the traumatic situation we find ourselves.”
The YCE and the Archbishop called for urgent action to rescue the victims and prevent future occurrences.
