IBADAN — Candidates preparing for the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in parts of Oyo State have been relocated to safer communities. The emergency relocation follows a series of coordinated attacks on local schools and rural settlements by armed men.
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), in collaboration with state educational and security authorities, initiated the relocation exercise to protect students during the critical testing window. The move directly responds to growing concerns from parents, community leaders, and school officials over the vulnerability of educational facilities in remote parts of the state.
Targeted Raids and Casualties in Oriire Local Government Area
The security disruption centered on several rural communities within the Oriire Local Government Area, near the Ogbomoso axis. Armed men riding motorcycles launched simultaneous morning raids on Baptist Nursery and Primary School in Yawota, as well as the shared campus of Community Grammar School and L.A. Primary School in Esiele.
During the assault, the gunmen fired indiscriminately into the air, forcing teachers and pupils to flee into nearby areas. An assistant headmaster, identified as Joel Adesiyan, was killed during the raid, and a commercial motorcyclist was shot dead after reportedly resisting attempts by the attackers to seize his vehicle.
The assailants abducted several individuals, including the principal of Community High School, Mrs. Alamu, a teacher named Temitope Mary Dahunsi, and an unspecified number of students. The attackers also hijacked a Toyota Corolla belonging to one of the school administrators, later setting the vehicle ablaze on an escape route leading toward the forested boundaries of the Oyo National Park.
Search and Rescue Operations Intensify
The incident has triggered widespread concern across the South-West region, where large-scale school abductions have historically been rare. In response, the Oyo State Police Command, under Commissioner Abimbola Olugbenga, deployed tactical teams, intelligence assets, and joint security operatives including the Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Amotekun to trace the perpetrators and secure the release of the remaining captives.
While security agencies carry out forensic examinations of distress videos released by the captors, state authorities chose to temporarily close the targeted schools. This closure prompted the immediate relocation of secondary school final-year students so they could take their remaining WASSCE papers in heavily secured alternative centers.
The attacks have renewed calls from residents and traditional leaders for a permanent, visible security presence in rural farming communities, where slow response times from distant divisional stations leave local populations exposed. Community leaders emphasize that the immediate priority remains the safe return of the abducted staff and children, alongside minimizing the psychological impact of the violence on students sitting for their national examinations.
The West African Examinations Council moves students from vulnerable communities in Oriire Local Government Area to ensure the ongoing WASSCE can proceed without disruption.
