Key points
- Wise-Up School in Abule Egba, Lagos, embarked on day two of its peaceful protest to draw government attention to national insecurity.
- Parents, teachers, and pupils gathered with banners to demand urgent action for the release of 39 students and seven teachers abducted in Oyo State.
- The victims were kidnapped on May 15, 2026, within the Oriire Local Government Area and are being held captive in the forest.
- Protest participants urged the government and security agencies to intensify their commitment and not rest until the captives are released.
- School officials and parents condemned the trauma caused by viral videos showing the harsh treatment being meted out to the captives by their abductors.
Main Story
Wise-Up School, a nursery and primary institution located in the Abule Egba area of Lagos State, has entered the second day of its peaceful protest against the country’s worsening security challenges.
Parents, teachers, and young pupils gathered outside the school gates holding placards and banners to demand swift government intervention regarding a mass abduction in neighboring Oyo State.
The incident, which took place on May 15, 2026, occurred within the Ahoro-Esin-Ile and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government Area, where 39 students and seven teachers were seized and dragged into the forest.
Frustrated by the lingering captivity of the victims, parents participating in the rally noted that while public authorities are making efforts, security agencies must drastically scale up their operations so that ordinary citizens can feel safe. School administrators also voiced their concerns, emphasizing that academic environments should remain secure spaces for instruction and personal growth rather than targets for banditry.
Additionally, the school’s leadership highlighted the heavy emotional toll the crisis is taking on families, particularly due to distressing footage circulating on social media. Teachers and organizers have appealed to the federal and state governments to act urgently to secure the immediate and safe release of everyone involved.
The Issues
- Securing the safe and urgent release of 39 students and seven teachers held captive in the forest since May 15, 2026.
- Protecting learning environments from targeted banditry to ensure schools remain safe spaces for children and educators.
- Managing the severe psychological trauma inflicted on families and the public by viral videos of the captives.
What’s Being Said
- Explaining the purpose of the demonstration and expressing deep concern for the future of the country, Mrs Adaaku Chibuike-Ochuwa said: “We are here to represent the school in protesting for the children that were kidnapped and asking the government to do what it needs to do to bring back these children and teachers.”
- Acknowledging state efforts while demanding a stronger, more effective response to rescue the victims, Chibuike-Ochuwa added: “We know that government is trying but we want it to intensify its commitment to bring back those abducted people. Children are the future of this country and we are concerned,”
- Urging state authorities to maintain an unrelenting focus on the active rescue operation, Mr Oluwagbemiga Olowu noted: “We came to urge the government to do all within its power to save our children and teachers inside the forest.”
- Appealing directly to political leaders to remain focused on the crisis until the victims return, Olowu stated: “Government is working but until the abducted children and teachers are released, they must not rest,”
- Emphasizing the fundamental right of children to access education without facing physical threats, Mrs Ozioma Oyi-Obute said: “Children should come to school happy, learn, and return home safely.”
- Declaring that criminal groups have no valid reason to target educational facilities, Oyi-Obute added: “Bandits targeting schools is unjustifiable,”
- Describing the disturbing content of circulating media and highlighting the low compensation of targeted educators, she stated: “I saw a child tied with a stone, these videos are traumatising. Teachers sacrifice a lot in spite of their poor pay. Government must do all it can to secure their release.”
- Sharing the personal anxiety of a parent imagining the harsh conditions young captives are facing in the wild, Mrs Tolulope Oyekanmi explained: “As a mother with a four-year-old child, I keep imagining her age mates in the bush, it is disheartening, ”
- Pleading for emergency state intervention to save lives and spare young children from severe emotional distress, Mrs Adejoke Oyebanjo concluded: “We plead with government to do all it can for the release of the abducted alive. Seeing the little ones tied and crying is unbearable. No child deserves such trauma, government must act urgently to save them,”
What’s Next
- Community members and school representatives will monitor whether the federal and state governments intensify forest rescue operations.
- Security agencies will face continued pressure to scale up surveillance and border checks around the Oriire Local Government Area.
- Wise-Up School organizers will evaluate further civic advocacy steps depending on the response from public authorities.
Bottom Line
Protesting parents and teachers of Wise-Up School in Lagos have staged a second day of peaceful demonstrations, demanding that the government intensify its security efforts and take immediate action to rescue 46 students and teachers kidnapped by bandits in Oyo State.
