IBADAN, Nigeria β€” Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has reassured residents that his administration is executing a highly delicate, specialized security operation to secure the safe release of the dozens of nursery, primary, and secondary school schoolchildren and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area. The mass abduction, which took place on May 15, involved coordinated attacks by heavily armed gunmen on three separate institutions: Baptist Nursery and Primary School in Yawota, alongside Community Grammar School and L.A. Primary School in Esiele. More than 40 individuals were marched into the forests, marking a deeply disturbing tactical shift in regional criminal activity. A Delicate Rescue Mission Underway Addressing a crowd of peaceful protesters and concerned citizens at the Government House in Ibadan, Governor Makinde openly shared his profound distress over the ongoing captivity, which has now crossed the 40-day mark. The governor emphasized that because the victims include highly vulnerable nursery and primary school pupils who cannot fend for themselves, the rescue strategy requires an extraordinary level of caution to avoid any collateral harm. We will do anything to rescue the children, Governor Makinde stated. The operation to rescue them is a special type of operation because we do not want to lose any of those children. I give you the assurance that I, as the governor of Oyo, by God's grace, will bring out our children and their teachers safely. While acknowledging public anxiety, the governor explained that specific operational details must remain strictly confidential to safeguard both the security forces and the abductees. However, he disclosed that the state government has taken the unusual but necessary step of establishing communications to explore every diplomatic and tactical avenue for a safe resolution. Curfew Imposed and the Old Oyo National Park Sealed To restrict the mobility of the criminal networks and provide tactical advantages to search teams, the Oyo State Government has instituted a stringent 16-hour daily curfew across 10 local government areas that border the expansive Old Oyo National Park. The daily movement restriction runs from 4:00 PM to 8:00 AM in critical zones including Oriire, Oorelope, Irepo, Saki West, Saki East, Atisbo, Itesiwaju, Iseyin, Olorunsogo, and Atiba. Joint security forces have reportedly blocked key escape corridors within the national park, using the curfew window to conduct intensive, coordinated sweeping operations. The governor urged local residents to cooperate fully with security personnel and report any suspicious movements within the border communities. Appealing to Striking Teachers and Education Unions The lingering security crisis has also triggered severe disruptions within the state's educational sector. Following the tragic revelation by the Nigeria Union of Teachers that two educators were killed during the initial ambush, the union directed all public school teachers across Oyo State to withdraw their services, effectively shutting down classrooms in protest of worsening regional security. In tandem with the ongoing rescue efforts, Governor Makinde made an impassioned appeal to the academic unions to suspend their industrial action and reopen public schools. To reassure educators and families, the state administration is rolling out enhanced security frameworks for schools located in vulnerable border communities. The state executive council has also passed a supplementary budget increasing the state's 2026 appropriation to 1.1 trillion Naira, allocating a portion of these resources to bolster grassroots security infrastructure and safeguard learning environments across the state. [Oyo Kidnap: Governor Makinde Visits Affected Families and Vows Safe Return](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X9ReGLd0c4) This video documents Governor Seyi Makinde leading a delegation of state officials to commiserate with families at L.A. Basic School in Ahoro-Esiele, where he details the government's approach to the crisis.