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The Oyo State Government has declared a 16-hour curfew in 10 local government areas bordering the Old Oyo National Park as security agencies intensify efforts to rescue the over 40 abducted pupils, teachers kidnapped from their schools in Oriire local government area on 15 May.
The curfew, approved by Governor Seyi Makinde, will take effect from Wednesday and run daily from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. for an initial period of 48 hours. The affected local government areas are Oriire, Oorelope, Irepo, Saki West, Saki East, Atisbo, Itesiwaju, Iseyin, Olorunsogo and Atiba.
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Announcing the measure in a statement on Tuesday, the Secretary to the State Government, Musibau Babatunde, said the restriction was aimed at strengthening security operations in communities bordering the national park.
He urged the residents of the affected local government areas to comply with the directive and cooperate with security agencies to ensure the successful implementation of the curfew.
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The development came as security forces intensify rescue operations around the Old Oyo National Park and reportedly blocked key escape routes used by the abductors.
But the Oyo State Government did not immediately provide details of the specific security threats that prompted the curfew.
The declaration comes amid heightened security concerns in Oyo State following the abduction of the schoolchildren and teachers.
The abduction
Armed gunmen on 15 May attacked three schools in the Ahoro-Esinle, and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government Area, abducting dozens of pupils, teachers and school officials. The attacked schools are Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, and Community Grammar School and L.A Primary School in Esiele.
The attackers also beheaded a mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, during the raid before taking the victims into the forests around the Old Oyo National Park.
The incident triggered widespread outrage across Oyo State, prompting school shutdown, and protests by residents and civil society groups who demanded urgent government action to secure the release of the victims.
Since the abduction, security agencies have launched extensive search-and-rescue operations across forests and remote communities surrounding the national park.
The rescue efforts have not been without casualties. Addressing protesters in Ibadan on 16 June, the Oyo State Governor, Makinde disclosed that a Nigerian Army lieutenant was killed during a rescue operation. The governor described the officer’s death as a painful sacrifice in ongoing efforts to secure the release of the schoolchildren and teachers.
“We have lost men, even soldiers. I can confirm to you that a lieutenant in the Nigerian Army was killed two days ago,” Mr Makinde said.
The governor insisted that Oyo State would not allow the abduction to degenerate into a prolonged national tragedy similar to the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ kidnapping.
Mr Makinde added that security agencies are deploying every available resource to secure the safe return of the victims while minimising further loss of lives.
Security concerns around national park
The Old Oyo National Park and adjoining forests have increasingly come under scrutiny over their use by criminal groups involved in kidnapping, banditry and other violent crimes.
READ ALSO:Oyo Abduction: Police give fresh assurance on release of abducted pupils, teachers
Earlier in January, five officers guarding the National Park Service were killed by gunmen in an attack on the National Park Office in Oloka Village Orire Local Government Area of the state.
Security experts have repeatedly warned that the vast forest corridors connecting parts of Oyo, Kwara and Niger states provide cover for armed groups operating across state boundaries.
Residents of communities surrounding the park have also raised concerns over recurring attacks, kidnappings and violent incursions in recent years.
The latest curfew is however expected to restrict movement across the affected local government areas while security forces continue operations in and around the forest belt.
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