A quiet morning in Yawota, a town in Oyo State, turned into a nightmare when armed kidnappers stormed a local school and abducted dozens of students and a teacher.
Aduke Balogun recalled seeing a masked man dressed in military-style clothing walking toward the school shortly before gunfire rang out. Panic quickly spread through the community as more gunmen emerged and residents scrambled to safety.
Amid the chaos, Balogun’s six-year-old daughter, Feranmi, managed to escape. Her eight-year-old daughter, Kausarat, was not as fortunate. She was among more than 30 students and a teacher who were seized by the attackers and taken into the surrounding bush.
The shocking incident highlights the growing spread of school kidnappings into southern Nigeria, a security threat that has long plagued parts of the country’s north. For families in Yawota, the attack has left a trail of fear, uncertainty, and desperate hopes for the safe return of their loved ones.#newsafro_
