Keep Your Rice, Money; Bring Back Our Children’ — Oyo Parents Reject Government’s Relief Items After School ∆bductions

 

‘Keep Your Rice, Money; Bring Back Our Children’ — Oyo Parents Reject Government’s Relief Items After School Abductions

The development comes as residents continue to recount the traumatic attacks carried out by heavily armed gunmen who invaded communities in the area, abducting pupils, teachers and other residents.

Parents of schoolchildren abducted by terrorists in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State have reportedly rejected rice, cash and other relief items brought by government officials, insisting that the only assistance they want is the safe return of their children.

The development comes as residents continue to recount the traumatic attacks carried out by heavily armed gunmen who invaded communities in the area, abducting pupils, teachers and other residents.

An elderly resident who witnessed the attack told News Central Television in a Yoruba-language interview monitored and translated by SaharaReporters that government officials who visited the affected communities after the incident were turned away by grieving parents.

According to him, the parents made it clear that no amount of food or money could replace their missing children.

“Little children were taken away while they kept shooting,” the elderly man said.

“After they left, we reported the matter to the police. When the police arrived, we narrated everything that happened to them.”

He added that government representatives later visited the community with relief materials and financial assistance, but the gesture was rejected.

“When the government officials came, they came with rice and money, but the parents rejected them,” he said.

“Women who are government officials working with Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration also came to console us. They brought rice and money too, but the parents rejected them.”

According to the witness, the affected families insisted that their priority was the rescue of the abducted children rather than material support.

“The parents told the government officials that they did not want anything from them except for them to rescue their children,” he said.

“The parents insisted that they want their children rescued and nothing else.”

The latest account comes amid growing outrage over the attacks on Esiele and Yawota communities in Oriire Local Government Area, where terrorists reportedly stormed schools and residential areas, abducting pupils, teachers and residents.

SaharaReporters had earlier reported that distraught mothers appealed to the government and security agencies to urgently rescue the kidnapped children.

One of the mothers, identified as Madam Aduke, tearfully narrated how armed men dressed in military uniforms invaded the community and began shooting indiscriminately before taking away several pupils, including her daughter, Kehinde Kaothar.

“We are begging you. Our children went to school. It was after 9am when we truly saw the kidnappers. They wore Army uniforms,” she said in a viral video.

“Before we understood what was going on, they started shooting and all of us ran away. I later saw my daughter, Kehinde Kaothar, among the abducted children.

“We are begging the government to bring back our children alive.”

Community leaders and residents have also described how the attackers allegedly forced the principal of Community High School, Esiele, to use her Toyota Corolla car to transport abducted pupils into a nearby forest reserve before setting the vehicle ablaze.

The Chairman of Esiele community, Amusa Wakilu, previously told SaharaReporters that the principal was among those abducted during the attack.

Another resident, Micheal Ojo, whose children, daughter-in-law and grandchild were kidnapped, said the gunmen forced the principal to drive the children into the forest while firing shots to prevent resistance.

Residents further alleged that the attackers wore military uniforms and struck while many villagers were away on their farms.

The attack reportedly claimed the lives of a commercial motorcyclist and an assistant headmaster, Joel Adesiyan, while several motorcycles belonging to residents were stolen.

The incident has heightened fears across Oyo State and renewed concerns over the safety of schools located near forest reserves, which residents say have increasingly become hideouts for armed groups.

As families continue to await news of their loved ones, many parents insist that government efforts should be focused on securing the release of the abducted children rather than providing relief materials.

“We don’t want rice. We don’t want money,” one resident said. “What we want is for our children to come back home alive.”

 

 

 

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