The Christian Association of Nigeria has strongly condemned the abduction of schoolchildren, teachers and school officials during coordinated attacks on schools in the Ahoro-Esinele and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
In a statement issued today Monday and signed by its President, Daniel Okoh, the association described the attacks as “barbaric,” “a national disgrace,” and evidence of a worsening security crisis spreading across the country.
CAN said the invasion of schools by armed criminals in broad daylight, coupled with the killing of innocent citizens and the abduction of pupils and teachers, represented a direct assault on Nigeria’s conscience and future.
“It is intolerable, disgraceful and utterly unacceptable that Nigerian children can no longer sit safely in classrooms without the fear of being kidnapped by armed gangs,” the statement read.
The Christian body expressed outrage that heavily armed attackers were able to storm multiple schools, terrorise communities, kill residents and escape with dozens of victims.
According to CAN, the incident signals a dangerous spread of organised criminal violence into parts of the country previously regarded as relatively secure.
The association also mourned the reported killing of an assistant headmaster who allegedly died while attempting to protect pupils during the attack.
“Their sacrifice must never be forgotten, and those responsible must be identified, apprehended and prosecuted without hesitation,” the statement added.
CAN lamented the trauma suffered by teachers, parents and communities affected by the abductions, describing reports of terrified teachers and helpless mothers pleading for mercy in captivity as a “national humiliation.”
“No parent should ever have to watch helplessly as their child is dragged into the forest by gunmen. No teacher should have to choose between educating children and risking abduction or death,” it stated.
The association warned that the continued failure to dismantle kidnapping networks and armed criminal groups was gradually normalising terror nationwide.
It noted that insecurity, once concentrated largely in parts of northern Nigeria, was now spreading into the South-West and other regions, posing a serious threat to national stability and public confidence.
CAN therefore called on the Federal Government, security agencies and the Oyo State Government to move beyond routine condemnations and take immediate, coordinated and forceful action to rescue the abducted victims and arrest those responsible.
“Every available security and intelligence resource must be deployed to secure the unconditional release of the abducted victims and bring the perpetrators and their collaborators to justice,” the association said.
The body further urged authorities to strengthen safe school initiatives and improve security across rural communities, forest corridors and known criminal hideouts.
“Nigeria must never surrender its schools, its children or its future to armed criminals,” the statement stressed.
CAN expressed solidarity with affected families, churches, school communities and residents of Oriire Local Government Area, while praying for the safe return of the abducted victims and healing for those affected by the tragedy.
“When children are hunted in their classrooms, silence becomes complicity and delay becomes dangerous. Nigeria must act decisively to defeat these criminal networks before more innocent lives are destroyed,” the statement concluded.
