All schoolchildren, teachers and the principal abducted during the May 15 attack on Ahoro-Esiele community in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State have been released, according to confirmation by THISDAY — ending a nearly two-month ordeal that gripped the nation and claimed the life of one teacher.
They are coming home.
THISDAY has confirmed that all the pupils, teachers and the principal abducted during the May 15 armed attack on a secondary school in the Ahoro-Esiele community of Oriire Local Government Area, Oyo State, have been released — bringing to an end one of Nigeria’s most distressing kidnapping crises in recent memory.
The 46 victims were seized when heavily armed gunmen stormed the community nearly two months ago, triggering nationwide outrage and intense pressure on both state and federal authorities to secure their release.
The tragedy deepened days after the abduction when one of the kidnapped teachers, Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded by the captors — a brutal act that intensified public fury and international attention on the case.
Details surrounding the rescue operation — including whether any arrests were made or ransom was paid — have not yet been disclosed by authorities.
The release ends weeks of anguish for the families of the victims and comes after sustained calls from opposition politicians, civil society groups and religious leaders for urgent government action to bring the captives home safely.
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