The Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin, has disclosed that terrorists responsible for the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area are demanding weapons, money and concessions on future laws as part of conditions for their release.
Ogundoyin made the revelation while addressing concerns over whether authorities should negotiate with kidnappers and terrorist groups to secure the freedom of victims.
The lawmaker’s comments follow the May 15 attacks on schools and communities in Esiele and Yawota, where gunmen abducted pupils, teachers and residents, sparking widespread condemnation across the country.
Questioning the implications of negotiating with the abductors, Ogundoyin suggested that the demands being made extend far beyond financial ransom.
“To bring these children and teachers back, if it is up to you, will you negotiate with terrorists if terrorists ask for weapons, they ask for money, they ask for concessions on future laws of this land as part of their ransom?” he asked.
“If you were the governor, will you accept those ransoms? Will you accept that those people should be accepted into that community?”
He cautioned that yielding to such demands could encourage more attacks and strengthen the operations of criminal groups.
“The more you negotiate with these people, the more you embolden them,” he added.
His remarks come amid growing pressure on both the Oyo State Government and the Federal Government to secure the release of the victims, many of whom have remained in captivity since the attack.
Families of the abducted children have continued to appeal for urgent intervention. One of the affected parents, Mrs. Aduke Balogun, narrated how armed men dressed in military uniforms stormed her community and abducted her eight-year-old daughter, Kehinde Kaosara.
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“In Esiele, we are begging you. Our children went to school. It was after 9 a.m. when we truly saw the kidnappers. They wore army uniforms,” she said.
“Before we understood what was going on, they started shooting and all of us ran away. I later saw my eight-year-old daughter, Kehinde Kaosara, among the abducted children.
“We are begging the government to bring back our children alive.”
Reports indicate that the attackers invaded schools in Esiele and Yawota communities, killing an assistant headmaster, Joel Adesiyan, and a commercial motorcyclist before taking pupils, teachers and other residents into a nearby forest.
Ogundoyin’s disclosure is expected to intensify discussions over the government’s strategy for handling terrorist negotiations as families continue to seek the safe return of their loved ones.