‘Keep your rice’ – Oyo parents reject govt’s relief materials, demand return of abducted children

Parents of schoolchildren abducted during a terrorist attack in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State have rejected rice, cash and other relief materials brought by government officials, insisting that the safe return of their children is the only acceptable form of assistance.

Parents of schoolchildren abducted by terrorists in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State have reportedly rejected rice, cash and other relief items brought by government officials, insisting that the safe return of their children remains their only demand. The development follows a violent attack on communities in the area by heavily armed gunmen who abducted pupils, teachers and other residents.

Residents continue to recount the traumatic incident, describing how the attackers invaded the communities and opened fire before taking away victims. An elderly resident who witnessed the attack told News Central Television in a Yoruba-language interview monitored and translated by SaharaReporters that government officials who later visited the affected communities were turned away by grieving families.

According to him, the parents insisted that no amount of food or money could compensate for their missing children. “Little children were taken away while they kept shooting,” the elderly man said. He added that although police and government officials visited the community with relief materials and cash, the offers were rejected. “When the government officials came, they came with rice and money, but the parents rejected them,” he said, stressing that the families were focused solely on securing the release of their abducted children.

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