Oyo school abduction: Hired worker begs for rescue of ward

A hired worker in Yawota community, Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, Aduke Balogun, has made a desperate appeal to government authorities to rescue her ward who remains among children abducted during a school attack in the area two weeks ago.

Balogun said she has no biological ties or support system in the community and has been solely responsible for the care of Kehinde Kaosarat, the girl still in captivity.

Her emotional plea was made during a solidarity and condolence visit by the Oriire Youth Council to affected families and community leaders in Esinele and Yawota.

A video of the visit, shared by Oriire ni tiwa on Facebook, has since gone viral, drawing renewed attention to the abduction.

Speaking in Yoruba, Balogun described the morning of the attack as calm before it suddenly turned violent.

“I am the father of the child and the mother of the child. Her parents are not here. I came here as a hired worker,” she said.

She explained that the children had gone to school as usual before armed men struck.

“In the morning, we bathed our children. They went to school. After 9am, we saw people dressed like soldiers. We thought they were visitors,” she said.

Moments later, gunshots rang out, throwing the community into panic.

“Before we knew it, we started hearing gunshots. Everybody started running,” she added.

Balogun said she briefly saw her ward during the chaos before losing sight of her as the attackers took the children away.

“I saw my daughter, Kaosarat. Her name is Kehinde Kaosarat,” she said.

She appealed directly for urgent intervention, urging authorities not to delay rescue efforts.

“Please help me. We are begging the government. They should help free our children,” she said.

Another resident, Madam Agnes, also recounted how the attackers disguised themselves before striking shortly after school resumed.

“Shortly after 9am, the bandits dressed like soldiers passed. We thought they were visitors,” she said.

She said panic spread immediately after gunshots were heard, forcing residents to flee into the bush.

“Nobody stayed. We all started running,” she said.

The Elesinele of Esinele, Tajudeen Abioye, confirmed the abduction and described the incident as devastating for the community.

“Kidnappers entered this town and abducted our children, teachers and the principal,” he said.

He appealed for urgent government intervention and prayers for the safe return of the victims.