EXCLUSIVE(SAHARA REPORTERS): ‘Our Teacher Ran Away First When Terrorists Attacked School’: 12-Year-Old Oyo Survivor Recounts Hiding In Bush Till Evening

A 12-year-old survivor of the recent terrorist attack on schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State has recounted to SaharaReporters how her teacher allegedly fled for safety immediately gunmen invaded their classroom, leaving terrified pupils to escape through windows and hide inside the bush for hours. The survivor, identified as Aminah, spoke to SaharaReporters with the permission of her parents amid growing fears over worsening insecurity around schools in Oyo State following the abduction of dozens of pupils and teachers. Narrating her ordeal in Yoruba, the visibly traumatised schoolgirl said the attack started suddenly while lessons were ongoing in the classroom. “We were in the classroom while a teacher was teaching us when we suddenly heard gunshots from outside,” Aminah told SaharaReporters. “The teacher was the first to run away, leaving us alone. We all had to jump through the window and run into the bush to save ourselves.” According to her, many of the frightened pupils remained hidden inside the forest until evening before they eventually emerged after hearing the voices of community residents searching for survivors. “We remained in the bush until evening before we started hearing people shouting. That was when all of us began coming out from the places where we had hidden,” she said. “The people who took us home were residents of the communities as well.” Her account comes as the Oyo State Police Command confirmed that at least 32 pupils, students and teachers abducted during the coordinated attacks on schools in the Ahoro-Esiele community of Oriire Local Government Area were still missing. Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Oluyinka Ayanlade, disclosed that seven secondary school students, 18 primary school pupils and seven teachers remain unaccounted for after the attacks on Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School. “Seven students, 18 pupils, and seven teachers are still missing,” Ayanlade said. SaharaReporters had earlier reported that armed men stormed the schools during school hours, abducting pupils, students and teachers, including the principal of Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele, Mrs. Rachael Alamu. The attacks have triggered widespread panic across several communities in Oyo State, with many parents reportedly withdrawing their children from schools over fears of further attacks. Meanwhile, Governor Seyi Makinde said surveillance aircraft acquired by the state government to strengthen security operations had already arrived in Nigeria. Speaking with journalists in Ibadan, Makinde said the aircraft were currently being assembled at a Nigerian Air Force facility in Lagos before deployment. “The surveillance aircraft have arrived in the country,” the governor said. “As of today, they are at the Nigerian Air Force hangar in Lagos, where they are being assembled.” He added that the aircraft would support intelligence gathering and aerial surveillance aimed at tackling kidnapping and violent attacks across the state. WATCH: ‘Our Teacher Ran Away First When Terrorists Attacked School’: 12-Year-Old Oyo Survivor Recounts Hiding In Bush Till Evening pic.twitter.com/d6oSdh6aSj — Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) May 19, 2026 WATCH: ‘Our Teacher Ran Away First When Terrorists Attacked School’: 12-Year-Old Oyo Survivor Recounts Hiding In Bush Till Evening pic.twitter.com/d6oSdh6aSj — Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) May 19, 2026