he evil men who have for years been on the prowl in different parts of the country took their devilish mission to the soul of the South-West—Oyo State, to be precise—on Friday, where they desecrated schools, violated innocence, and unleashed fear. They killed and abducted, leaving behind trails of blood, tears, and trauma. In a brazen display of brutality, the criminals even beheaded one of the teachers they kidnapped and shamelessly displayed his head like a trophy. What audacity!
The Friday abduction of teachers and pupils from Community High School, Ahoro-Esinele, and Baptist Nursery and Primary School in the Ogbomoso Yawota area of Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State should alarm every serious-minded Nigerian, particularly political leaders and stakeholders in the South-West.
The reason is simple. For years, many people in the region watched from a distance as banditry, school kidnappings, and terrorism devastated parts of the North-East and North-West, often assuming such horrors belonged to another geographical reality entirely. But criminality does not respect regional boundaries, ethnic identities, or political assumptions.
The disturbing incident in Oyo State is not merely another isolated kidnapping case; it is a dangerous warning sign that organised criminal networks are gradually testing the South-West. If urgent and coordinated action is not taken now, the region may soon find itself battling the same climate of fear, lawlessness, and insecurity that has held parts of northern Nigeria hostage for years.
Schools naturally represent places of safety, learning, and hope. This is why anyone who invades schools under any guise can rightly be described as heartless and devilish. Kidnapping children and teachers creates psychological terror that extends far beyond the immediate victims and their families. It sends fear across communities, weakens confidence in public safety, and threatens the educational system itself. The South-West must never normalise such a dangerous development.
Ironically, the warning signs that the South-West might not be immune to this disturbing trend have always existed. The handwriting has long been visible on the wall. Incidents that were once dismissed as isolated cases had already occurred in schools in Lagos and Ogun states years ago. On February 29, 2016, three female students of Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary were abducted from their school in Ikorodu, Lagos State. The students were later rescued, and the suspects arrested.
Similarly, armed men invaded the Nigerian Tulip International School in Isheri, Ogun State, near Lagos, in January 2017 and abducted eight persons, including five students and three staff members. Places of worship have not been spared either. One incident that still comes readily to mind is the June 5, 2022, mass shooting and bomb attack on a Catholic church in Owo, Ondo State.
There have also been several cases of kidnappings in churches and religious gatherings within the region. Beyond attacks on schools and places of worship, there has been a growing pattern of kidnappings on highways in Ondo, Ogun, Ekiti, and Oyo states. Clearly, this latest Oyo incident did not emerge from nowhere; the warning signs have existed for years.
Anyone who was previously in doubt should by now recognise that criminal networks are expanding southward. Sustained pressure on criminal groups in some northern regions may be pushing their operations into other parts of the country, while the vast forest belts across the South-West are becoming increasingly vulnerable. The situation is further compounded by what appears to be weak intelligence gathering, inadequate surveillance, and poor inter-state security coordination. These criminals did not simply wake up on Friday and invade those schools blindly. Such attacks require planning, surveillance, and familiarity with the terrain. The fact that they operated and escaped without immediate confrontation suggests the level of preparation that likely went into the operation. Banditry spreads where criminals perceive weak resistance and poor response capacity.
There is obvious danger in complacency. Because the South-West still appears relatively more stable than some other regions, there is the risk that political leaders and communities may underestimate the threat until it escalates dangerously. Northern states also once dismissed early attacks as isolated incidents before insecurity gradually spiralled out of control. The pattern is almost always the same: insecurity grows slowly, spreads quietly, and becomes deeply entrenched before authorities fully appreciate the scale of the danger.
State governors in the South-West must therefore act urgently and decisively. They must rise to the responsibilities placed upon them by the people. To begin with, there should be an immediate regional security summit involving all South-West governors and security stakeholders. They should temporarily step away from the growing political distractions surrounding the forthcoming general elections and focus on the urgent security realities confronting the region.
As quickly as possible, there should also be stronger collaboration among Amotekun corps across the states, improved intelligence-sharing with federal security agencies, comprehensive protection audits for schools and vulnerable rural communities, as well as technology-driven surveillance and rapid-response systems. Security management cannot continue to remain reactive. Preventive measures are far more effective than post-attack responses.
Political leaders must understand that politics cannot replace security. It is obvious that many politicians are already consumed by re-election plans, succession battles, party primaries, endorsements, defections, and coalition talk ahead of 2027. Yet elections themselves can only take place in an atmosphere of peace and stability. No meaningful political process can survive widespread insecurity and public fear.
There are also important lessons to learn from northern Nigeria. School kidnappings there started as isolated incidents, too. Failure to respond decisively at the early stages allowed criminal enterprises to expand rapidly. Over time, insecurity crippled education, disrupted farming activities, weakened local economies, displaced communities, and normalised fear. The South-West still has the opportunity to stop this trend before it becomes deeply rooted.
The stakes for the South-West are extremely high if insecurity is allowed to fester. The region remains Nigeria’s economic nerve centre. Worsening insecurity could scare away investments, disrupt education, damage commerce and tourism, weaken public confidence, and deepen social fear. A serious security collapse in the South-West would inevitably have national consequences.
The region must, therefore, resist criminal encroachment through every lawful and coordinated means available. This responsibility does not belong to political leaders alone. Citizens, traditional rulers, community leaders, religious organisations, and local communities all have important roles to play. Community vigilance and intelligence gathering remain essential. Criminals thrive where communities and governments are disconnected from one another. The South-West must defend not only its territory but also its civic stability and social confidence.
The South-West must never surrender itself to criminals. The kidnapping of pupils and teachers in Oyo State should not be treated as just another unfortunate headline that disappears from public attention after a few news cycles. It is a loud warning that insecurity is evolving, adapting, and spreading. The region still possesses the advantage of acting before the situation degenerates into the kind of large-scale terror witnessed elsewhere in the country.
The crux of the matter, however, is that this window of opportunity may not remain open forever. Governors and political leaders must understand that the elections and political ambitions currently dominating their attention can only take place in an atmosphere of peace, order, and stability. No region can effectively campaign, vote, invest, learn, or prosper under fear. The time to act decisively is now—before isolated incidents grow into a permanent nightmare.
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