Oyo Government Urges Teachers to Reopen Schools Amid Ongoing Kidnapping Crisis

(Governor Seyi Makinde. Photo by News Central Tv)

The Oyo State Government has urged the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) to reopen public schools and allow students to resume learning, following an ongoing withdrawal of teaching services prompted by a security crisis in the state.

Commissioner for Information Dotun Oyelade made the appeal in a statement issued on Wednesday, acknowledging the union’s concerns while warning that the prolonged school closure risked far-reaching social and economic consequences.

The NUT had directed teachers in government-owned schools to withdraw their services after gunmen @bd*cted teachers and pupils from three communities in Oriire Local Government Area on May 15, 2026.

More than 46 pupils and teachers were k!dn@pped during the att@ck, and over a month later, the victims remain in captivity.

Two teachers were also k!ll3d in connection with the incident.

The union has maintained that schools will remain closed until the state government takes concrete and verifiable steps to improve security.

NUT Secretary Olukayode Salami, speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria, said the decision to withdraw from classrooms was driven by the deteriorating security situation and the continued captivity of the @bd*cted victims.

Oyelade, while describing the union’s concerns as understandable, urged the NUT to also consider the broader implications of keeping schools shut.

He assured teachers that the government was actively pursuing strategic measures to secure the release of those still being held.