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Senator for Oyo North, Abdulfatai Buhari has revealed how the armed gunmen that abducted 46 schoolchildren and teachers from schools in Yawota and Esiele communities in Oriire LGA of Oyo State conducted surveillance before striking on May 15.
He said their activities left telltale signs that could have helped the authorities to nip the attack in the bud if reported.
The senator spoke as a guest on an Arise TV news and current affairs programme on Thursday night.
He said, “Look at this school, for example in that Esiele and Yawota. They first went to Yawota and picked nine students.
“From Yawota to Esiele is about five to eight minutes’ drive and then they came to Esiele to pick the remaining students and teachers. One of the teachers was trying to escape through the window. He was shot.
“Another person, he is not even a teacher, he is just an okada (commercial motorbike) rider. He was dropping somebody from Yawota to Esiele and they thought he was chasing them. He was shot.”
The senator said the location of the affected schools in remote rural communities made them highly susceptible to attacks.
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“Now back to the (Safer) Schools Initiative; in most cases, schools in the rural areas are always about three, four classrooms. It is a very remote area,” he said.
Buhari narrated how unusual business activity could have signalled the presence of the criminal elements around the area.
He said, “Two days before the strike, there is a woman selling beans and bread. Normally, her take-home is maybe N1,000, N1,200.
“But for the two days before the strike, she was making N10,000, N15,000, N20,000. She thought there was a market boom, so instead of reporting it, probably to give information, tell the Baale (traditional ruler) or any of the teachers that there are some certain people who come here to buy, she thought maybe it was her business that was booming or probably they were building certain things around that area,” he said.
According to the senator, it turned out that the attackers were conducting surveillance as a prelude to the attack.
“Unfortunately, it turned out that those people were doing what they call surveillance, so when they struck two days later, they realised the people buying beans and bread worth N10,000, N15,000, this is their intention. At times, information is also very vital,” Buhari said.
