“I heard them saying, ‘e ya wolé’ (come in)“they entered my classroom first and seized me and a 2-year-old girl i was carrying..
That was a teacher at Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Elizabeth Olagoke, narrating to journalists, the Friday attack of schools in Oyo State.
“The terrorists came around 8am. We had all started the morning session. They came on six motorcycles, and there were two passengers on each bike.
“I heard them saying, ‘E ya wolé’ (come in). They started shooting sporadically, and there was pandemonium. The terrorists were speaking Yoruba, Hausa, and Pidgin English.
“They were all masked and dressed in camouflage, and they were young men. They came from the Esinele area. They operated for about seven minutes.
“They entered my classroom first and seized me and a two-year-old girl I was carrying. I pleaded with them, and one of them said they should let me go.
“I started running, and some of them even chased after me. I had about 20 children in my kindergarten class. The schoolchildren are from three communities: Yawota, Esinele, and Alausa.
“The abducted schoolchildren are: eight from Yawota, 20 from Esinele, and five from Alausa. They also kidnapped a teacher. In all, they abducted about 48 persons.
“The terrorists stole my husband’s motorcycle, which he had parked at my school. They also killed a motorcyclist and snatched his bike. The total number of motorcycles stolen in Yawota is three. They took away the schoolchildren on motorcycles. It was a terrifying situation. I am yet to recover from the shock.”
Community Grammar School, Esiele; and L.A. Primary School were attacked alongside Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, and the incident has left parents, guardians and school administrators distraught.
The incident had turned the weekend to a wailing weekend for residents of the area, even as security agents continue coordinated efforts at apprehending the attackers.
Much more, a slap on the joint Nigeria-United States counter-terrorism operation that reportedly eliminated al-Minuki and his defenders in the area.
Regarded as a strong bastion of the ISWAP operations in the North East, his dislodgment spells a major feat at containing insurgency in the area, but which now has been nullified by the successful Oyo strike and abduction.
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Both a traditional ruler in the community, the Eleshi Ele of Esiele, Oba Tajudeen Abioye and Borno South Senatorial District representative in the National Assembly, Senator Ali Ndume, confirm that 45 pupils were abducted, by Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists.
Breaking down the 42, the school said two boys and two girls were abducted from the secondary school section, 28 pupils from the primary section, and 10 children from residential homes within the community.
Lamenting recent attacks on Borno communities, Senator Ndume appealed to the authorities to intensify efforts at rescuing the abductees and generally secure the communities.
Cami Ezenwa is a Writer, Editor, Publicist, Biographer and Journalism Trainer
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