The Christian Association of Nigeria has slammed the abduction of students and staff from schools in Oyo State as a shameful security failure.
Attackers struck Ahoro-Esinele and Yawota communities in Oriire Local Government Area in coordinated raids. They snatched dozens of pupils and teachers in broad daylight.
CAN President Archbishop Daniel Okoh issued a statement on Monday condemning what he called "a direct assault on the nation's conscience."
"When children are hunted in their classrooms, silence becomes complicity and delay becomes dangerous," the statement read.
Okoh expressed outrage that armed gangs could storm multiple schools without resistance. Innocent people were killed during the invasions, he noted.
The association described the incident as more than routine criminal activity. It signals that organised violence is now spreading into previously safer regions of the country.
"It is intolerable, disgraceful and utterly unacceptable that Nigerian children can no longer sit safely in classrooms," CAN stated.
An assistant headmaster died trying to shield students during the attack. Other victims also fell to the gunmen, according to reports.
"Their sacrifice must never be forgotten, and those responsible must be identified, apprehended and prosecuted without hesitation," the group added.
CAN lamented that teachers now face impossible choices between their profession and personal safety. Parents and pupils suffer immeasurable trauma from such incidents.
"The sight of terrified teachers and helpless mothers pleading for mercy is a national humiliation," Okoh noted in the statement.
Security agencies have failed to dismantle kidnapping networks operating across Nigeria. Criminal groups once concentrated in the North now operate freely in the South-West.
"Nigerians are exhausted by condolences without consequences and promises without protection," CAN warned authorities.
The association demanded immediate action from federal and state governments. Every security and intelligence resource must be mobilised to free the captives, they insisted.
"Every available security and intelligence resource must be deployed to secure the unconditional release of the abducted victims," the statement read.
Perpetrators and their collaborators must face justice without delay. CAN called this essential for restoring public confidence in law enforcement.
Schools require stronger safety measures to withstand future attacks. Criminal elements controlling rural areas and forest corridors must be driven out.
"Nigeria must never surrender its schools, its children or its future to armed criminals," CAN declared.
Okoh expressed solidarity with affected families and church communities in the area. He urged prayers for the safe return of all abducted persons.
