Tinubu, Buhari, Jonathan: List of mass kidnappings in 3 elections
- Unprecedented school abductions have raised security questions in Nigeria amid upcoming 2927 general elections
- The recent coordinated attacks in Oyo and Borno highlighted a troubling pattern of political exploitation as it happened under former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and late Muhammadu Buhari
- President Bola Tinubu administration faced same pressure to prevent abduction crisis from defining its legacy, recording partial success with the recent rescue of Oyo pupils and teachers
The Federal Government has partially fixed an unprecedented single-day security collapse that happened on Friday, May 15, 2026, when coordinated school abductions struck simultaneously in two geographically distant regions of the country, raising urgent questions about the adequacy of the nation's security architecture and the possible exploitation of educational institutions for political pressure.
In Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, armed terrorists stormed several schools, seizing 46 students and teachers and killing one teacher in the process. Reports indicated that one victim was executed as a deliberate message to authorities. The incident marked the first attack of such scale in the Southwest and triggered street protests alongside a renewed social media campaign echoing the spirit of the 2014 #BringBackOurGirls movement.
Source: Twitter
On the same day, terrorists abducted 42 schoolchildren from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira Uba, Borno State. In under 24 hours, more than 80 Nigerians, most of them children, had been pulled from their classrooms.
However, on Friday, July 10, the schoolchildren and teachers who were kidnapped in Oyo state were rescued by the security agencies, while that of Borno are still in captivity.
A Troubling Pattern Across Three Administrations
The timing of these events has drawn scrutiny beyond the immediate humanitarian crisis. In 2014, during President Goodluck Jonathan's re-election campaign, the abduction of 276 Chibok schoolgirls in Borno State became a defining symbol of his administration's security failures. In 2018, as President Muhammadu Buhari prepared for the 2019 elections, 110 Dapchi schoolgirls were taken from Yobe State, though most were eventually released. Now, with political activity ahead of the 2027 elections intensifying under President Tinubu, a third wave of school attacks has emerged, this time extending into the Southwest for the first time.
Three election cycles. Three administrations placed on the defensive. Three mass school abduction crises. Whether this pattern reflects coordinated exploitation of political calendars or a series of tragic coincidences remains an open question, but security analysts argue it demands honest, public interrogation rather than dismissal.
Chibok left a permanent scar on Jonathan's legacy and contributed to his 2015 electoral defeat. Buhari survived the Dapchi crisis partly because most victims were recovered before polling day. The question now confronting the Tinubu administration is whether decisive intervention can prevent the current wave from calcifying into an equally defining failure, with more than 50 million Nigerian schoolchildren's futures hanging in the balance.
Source: Twitter
Atiku challenges Tinubu on Oyo rescue
Legit.ng earlier reported that Atiku Abubakar fired back at the Presidency for alleging he made no comment after the rescue of abducted schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State.
Atiku's aide Phrank Shaibu said the Presidency was either too lazy to verify publicly available facts or too embarrassed to acknowledge his statement.
The former vice president reproduced excerpts from his earlier press release commending the military and demanding the rescue of Nigerians still in captivity.
Source: Legit.ng
