Oyo teachers begin indefinite strike over continued captivity of abducted colleagues, pupils

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has directed public primary and secondary school teachers in Oyo State to embark on an indefinite withdrawal of services over the continued captivity of teachers and pupils abducted during an attack on schools in Oriire Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.

In a circular signed by the Secretary of the Oyo State chapter of the union, Salami Olukayode, the union said the action takes effect from Monday and will continue until further notice.

The directive followed an order from the national leadership of the NUT, which expressed concern over the prolonged detention of the abducted teachers and learners by their captors.

The union said the continued captivity of the victims, with no clear indication of their imminent rescue, had created fear among teachers, discouraged parents from sending their children to school, and heightened tension in affected communities.

According to the NUT, the industrial action is intended to draw attention to the plight of the abductees and compel authorities to intensify efforts toward their safe release.

The union urged teachers to remain law-abiding and stay at home while negotiations and engagements with the government continue.

“The union and entire teachers in the country stand in solidarity with the victims and their families as more lawful engagements with the government for the safe return of the abductees continue,” the statement added.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that members of the Take-It-Back (TIB) Movement also staged a protest in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Monday, calling on the government to take urgent steps to tackle rising insecurity.

The abduction

Two weeks ago, gunmen stormed the Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, and Community Grammar School and L.A. Primary School in Ahoro-Esiele, abducting teachers and pupils.

Governor Seyi Makinde had earlier confirmed that one of the abducted teachers, an assistant headmaster identified as Mr Adesiyan, was killed by the kidnappers after a video emerged showing the incident.

President Bola Tinubu condemned the killing of the teacher and assured residents that federal and state authorities were working together to secure the release of the remaining victims.

The presidency said Mr Tinubu has approved the deployment of 1,000 forest guards to the state.

A scourge that refuses to go away

In the last three years under the Tinubu presidency, Nigeria has recorded at least nine mass school kidnapping incidents involving 551 students and staff.

Since the 2014 Boko Haram abduction of 276 school girls from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno state, Nigeria, there has been a steady increase in school abductions.

Four years after the Chibok incident, another mass school abduction occurred in February 2018, when Boko Haram fighters kidnapped 110 girls from Government Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State.

By late 2020, the crisis had spread to the North-west, where heavily armed bandit groups began targeting schools on a massive scale.

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Since then, there have been school abductions in Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Katsina State; Government Science Secondary School in Kagara, Niger State; Government Girls’ Secondary School, Jangebe, Zamfara; Greenfield University, Kaduna; Tanko Salihu Islamic School; Bethel Baptist High School, Chikun, Kaduna; Federal Government College, Kebbi and Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, Zaria, Kaduna.

It continued at the Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Federal University Lafia, Nasarawa State; Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State; LEA Primary and Secondary School in Kuriga, Kaduna State; Islamic boarding school in Gidan Bakuso, Sokoto State; St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State; Darul Kitab Islamic Orphanage and School in Kogi and the latest abduction of 46 people from Oyo schools.