Several Nigerian celebrities have condemned the abduction of pupils, students, and teachers in Oyo State, as well as the worsening insecurity across the country under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that about 32 people were kidnapped from Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele; Primary School, Esiele; and Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School, all in Oriire Local Government Area of the state.
|
|
The newspaper further reported that one of the victims, a mathematics teacher identified as Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded in captivity.
Reacting to the abductions and what they described as a “muted response” from Mr Tinubu and his administration, they demanded urgent action from security agencies and government authorities.
|
|
|
|---|
In a series of posts on their social media handles, the entertainers expressed sympathy for the victims and their families.
They urged swift intervention to secure the release of those still in captivity and prevent further attacks.
Toyin Abraham
Filmmaker and actress Toyin Abraham-Ajeyemi said in a tweet on her X page on Wednesday that kidnapping, killings … must not be normalised in Nigeria.
She says that Nigeria belongs to all its citizens, adding that the moment calls for unity, compassion and a shared sense of responsibility.
The actress also calls on Nigerians to keep raising their voices, supporting one another and praying for lasting peace in the country.
The mother of one further prays for God to comfort bereaved families, heal the nation and safeguard innocent lives.
She writes: “My heart is deeply heavy over the painful killings and abductions happening in Oyo State and across different parts of Nigeria. As someone with strong ties to Oyo State through family, culture and love for the people, this tragedy feels very personal to me. It is heartbreaking to see innocent lives lost, families thrown into mourning, children living in fear and communities traumatised by violence.
“I mourn especially with the families of the victims, the parents whose children were taken, and everyone affected by the recent attacks in Oriire Local Government Area and other parts of Oyo. No Nigerian deserves to live in fear. No child should be afraid to go to school. No family should wake up to news of violence and bloodshed.”
The actress, however, commended the efforts of security agencies and the Oyo State government, while calling for more urgent and decisive action to secure the release of the captives and protect lives and communities.
“And please, what is the state government doing to prevent future occurrences?” Abraham-Ajeyemi asked.
Kunle Remi
Film producer and actor Kunle Remi condemned the government’s silence over the kidnapping.
He also criticised ongoing political campaigns and preparations for the forthcoming general election.
Remi questioned how politicians could proceed with campaigns while kidnapped victims remained stranded in the forests.
“As I settle in for the night, I can’t help but think. As you go to bed tonight, remember that children are sleeping in forests. Imagine the
cold, the bugs, the fear, the discomfort. Remember, a mother is holding her baby, helpless.
“Parents praying for safety. Schools living in fear. And somehow, in the middle of all these election campaigns and preparations, bloggers are still posting election-related content like everything is normal. May we never become so used to tragedy that we stop feeling it”, Remi stated in a statement posted on his Instagram page on Monday night.
‘Nation of darkness’
Besides, music producer and singer Olumide “ID Cabasa” Ogunade expressed sadness that the citizens had become desensitised to evil in the country.
ID Cabasa, in a video posted on his Instagram page, also expressed frustration over what he described as Nigerians’ growing tendency to interpret critical voices through political lenses.
He noted that this often happens even when individuals speak out against insecurity, economic hardship and other pressing challenges facing the country.
“Nigerians have gotten used to the killing. We have adjusted to the darkness that has covered this country. The government of the day is not taking action. We make all of these things political. We make it religious. We make it ethical. We make it tribal. And I am saying this. The devil is devouring us in Nigeria. Evil is devouring us.
“And it’s so sad. Whatever name they call it, banditry, terrorism, is eating us in Nigeria. They are taking our loved ones. Parents are no longer sending their kids to school. An innocent teacher was beheaded. The last time, a woman was carrying a child and was praying that the child should not die. A guy who was already dead should not die. And the next minute, another challenge will come up online, and people start walking on trends. Comic relief will come”, he wrote on his Instagram page on Tuesday.
“Are terrorists the government?”
The 50-year-old noted that whenever evil occurs, Nigerians gradually adjust, likening the situation to a frog in boiling water.
He added that urgent action is needed to address what he described as a “growing darkness” over Nigeria, whether it stems from the government or any other source.
“It needs to be broken. Nigerians, if you have a voice, speak up. Speak up. This thing is getting close to home. It’s getting close to home. The way I’ve been feeling in the last few days, as we have this killing, is I see these terror guys. They are even the ones in government. The way it looks now, because you can’t tell me that the government can be this helpless. That people died. Nothing solid has actually come from the government.
“Nothing solid has come. I see what happens when some of these things occur in the United States. The emphatic way that the presidency will talk, that will come after you, will get you, and will go you down. But what do we do? We get to rehabilitate these same guys who have caused mayhem. That has caused families to cry. That has caused. We will test whether we are debilitating them. We are bringing them back into the system. Nigerian government, do something about this”, ID Cabasa noted.
‘Who’s safe?’
Actress Oluwabukola “Bukola Arugba” Awoyemi questioned which places and individuals were still safe under Mr Tinubu’s administration.
In a post on her Instagram page on Tuesday, the actress called for divine intervention and prayed for the safe return of the abductees to their respective homes.
Her words, “I cried myself to sleep last night after watching children crying in the bandits’ camp, and I woke up crying again after seeing heartbreaking videos of elderly people being beaten by the young criminals.
“I’m sure I’m not being overly emotional. Anyone with human feelings should feel this pain. It is truly sad. Dear God, Nigeria needs your help. When the help of man fails, only God’s help is certain. We are helpless. God, please send urgent help in Jesus’s name.”
Collapsed security
Veteran actor and director Muyideen “Lala Dapo” Oladapo stated in a post on his Instagram page on Wednesday that the country’s security collapse raised serious concerns.
He added that when citizens could not farm, travel or send their children to school without the constant threat of death, it pointed to a deep breakdown in national security.
He stated that such conditions signified that the fundamental contract between the government and the governed had effectively collapsed.
The movie producer said, “The spreading shadow of violence across Nigeria has breached the borders of the South West, turning a once stable region into a landscape of fear. From the harrowing mass abduction and tragic killing of an educator in Oyo State to the increasingly perilous highways of Ekiti, Ondo, and Ogun, the normalisation of terror is taking root.
“This security collapse raises serious questions, especially since the Amotekun Commanders across the South West collectively maintained in 2025 that the region’s forests would never be allowed to serve as permanent hideouts or bases for criminals. The South West Governors’ Forum stated that there was “no empirical evidence of bandits in the South West, but security measures are being strengthened to prevent any incidents.”
Governors responsibilities
Additionally, the actor questioned how armed bandits were able to penetrate the South-West and abduct students and teachers.
He noted that this happened despite the presence of the Amotekun Corps and other security agencies, which he described as operating within “heavily guarded corridors”.
He further questioned why the governors had allowed the region to become unsafe for residents.
“To the Executive Governors of the region, the title of ‘Chief Security Officer’ must cease to be a mere protocol ornament. You are the Number One Citizens of your states, bound by a sacred constitutional covenant to protect the lives and livelihoods of your people. Standard press releases of condemnation and reactive condolences are no longer acceptable; we need action.
“True leadership demands immediate, proactive coordination. Governors must take absolute charge of their internal security by sitting down with their state Commissioners of Police (CP) to directly engage the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and open up every other necessary channel”, said Lala Dapo.
According to him, the ongoing insecurity plaguing the country requires the police, the military, local security outfits, and indigenous intelligence networks to work more closely together.
“It is time to enforce a unified front where the police, military, local security outfits, and indigenous intelligence networks seamlessly come together to secure our forests from external forces systematically.
“History will judge your tenures not by the infrastructure youououou build, but by how fiercely and effectively you unite these forces to defend the human lives meant to utilise them.”
Tragedy
Also, filmmaker and actor Muyiwa Ademola described the Oyo State abduction and the persistent insecurity across the country as a tragedy that felt deeply personal, in a statement posted on his Instagram page.
He said his heart remained heavy over the painful killings and abductions recorded in different parts of the country.
Ademola added that the tragedy felt personal to him, noting that it was heartbreaking to see innocent lives lost, families plunged into mourning, children living in fear, and communities traumatised by ongoing violence.
“I mourn especially with the families of the victims, the parents whose children were taken, and everyone affected by the recent attacks in Oriire Local Government and other parts of the state.
“No Nigerian deserves to live in fear. No child should be afraid to go to school. No family should wake up to news of violence and bloodshed”, he said.
Appeal for release
Furthermore, the 55-year-old commended the efforts of the security agencies and the Oyo State government in rescuing the abductees.
Appealing to the governmentmentmentmentmentment, he said, “It is important to appeal for more urgent and decisive actions to secure the release of those still in captivity and strengthen the protection of lives and communities. And please, what is the state government doing to prevent future occurrences?
“Nigeria belongs to all of us, and this is a time for unity, compassion and collective responsibility. We cannot normalise violence. We must continue to speak up, support one another and pray for peace to return to our land. May God comfort every grieving family, heal our nation and protect every innocent life.”
Wrath
More so, filmmaker Biodun Stephen, in a statement posted on her Instagram page on Tuesday, cursed those who benefit from, encourage, or support injustice and violence in the country.
She also declared peace over Nigeria.
“For as many who benefit from, encourage or support injustice or violence, neither you nor your family nor generation will escape the wrath of the many innocent lives shed.
“Their souls will cease your peace. All your days shall be laden in trouble and agony. Even when you decide to do the right thing, you must see small shege, so you know how it feels.”
For Nigerian singer, Peterson Okopi, since the abduction, he has not been okay but has concerns about the abductees.
“Going to sleep on a bed while some babies are in a forest. They dare not even fall asleep. Dear Lord, I’m not okay. Have they eaten? Have they taken a bath? Their bodies. Are they seeing guns and strange faces? How are their parents breathing?”, he wrote on his Instagram page.
Action
Additionally, content creator and actress Bukunmi “Kie Kie” Adeaga-Ilori called on the government to do everything possible to secure the release of abductees and halt the ongoing killings.
She stated that Nigerians could not continue to adapt to worsening insecurity and other troubling developments under Mr Tinubu’s administration.
According to Kie Kie, something is fundamentally wrong with the system of governance.
“My major fear is always how you think that something crazy is happening, but fast forward to a couple of weeks or months, something crazier would happen. And then it would still be treated as though nothing were happening. Something I don’t know and don’t understand. Something crazy is happening. And at this point, we’ve begged the government several times. We’ve sent, we’ve made a lot of videos.
“We have protested. We have done so many things. And I’m just now pushed to the point where I want to ask, is there a particular person we have to go and beg? Let’s go and beg that person, because I don’t think any parent should be in this situation. And then you now see an image of your child like that”, said Kie Kie in a video she posted on her Instagram page.
Release
She added that it had been over a week since the children kidnapped in Ibadan were abducted, and they were yet to be released.
“You are telling me now that those little children have been beaten like that? Something is wrong. Every two seconds like this, as a Nigerian, you’ll just be saying omo, nawa! Like you see a dead body on the road. You just be like,eyah. And then you go.
“It’s not the norm. If there’s anything that everyone in the right position can do every day, we use it to beg you. Please make it stop. I join my voice with the voice of every single parent, every single Nigerian. I join their voices with mine. And I say, make it stop.”
