After suspected bandits allegedly dropped a letter at a public school on Tuesday, there was panic in a number of Osun State towns.
Before news reached Osogbo, the state capital, the fear reportedly started in Ikirun, Ifelodun Local Government Area, and then extended to Obaagun, Iree, Eripa, Otan-Ayegbaju, and Ila-Orangun.
Schools in Ikirun promptly closed, and parents hurried to get their kids. As the situation worsened and eventually spread, students were seen fleeing in terror on the roads.
Students were sent home from Community Secondary Grammar School, Obaagun, NUD in Iree, Kidvarc in Iree, Baptist High School in Iree, Eripa Grammar School, and a few schools in Otan-Ayegbaju and Ila-Orangun.
Some private schools also invited parents to pick up their kids when the word spread to Osogbo.
In addition, Engr. Olalekan Badmus, Executive Director, Marine and Operations at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), bemoaned the government of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s decision to remove armored vehicles from key Osun locations for more than a year.
According to Badmus, the cars were removed for “refurbishment” without any justification, which might have an impact on the security response against criminal activity.
Governor Adeleke, through his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said the vehicles were not abandoned, claiming that the Oyetola administration left the armoured personnel carriers “to rot,” while his government refurbished and rehabilitated them for deployment.
He reassured residents that his government has secured schools and urged the public to ignore false alarms about school kidnappings, saying fact checks showed no case of kidnappings.
“The Oyetola administration inherited the APCs from the Aregbesola administration. The last administration however left them to rot. My government has rehabilitated them and the public will soon witness a new security plan to strengthen the security of lives and properties in Osun state,” Adeleke said.
The Osun State Police Command also reacted, describing the circulating reports as “false and misleading.”
This is the world we find ourselves in—where lives are threatened every day, and kidnappers continue to carry out their evil acts with impunity. The relentless rise of violence and insecurity is overwhelming, and it feels like too much for us to bear.
In these difficult times, we earnestly seek divine intervention, hoping that God’s mercy and guidance will restore peace and safety to our lives and our communities.
