Political allies of Governor Seyi Makinde and the Nigerian Bar Association in Ibadan have demanded a sweeping overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture after the abduction of teachers and pupils in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.

The victims were seized in coordinated raids on Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Community Grammar School and L.A. Primary School, Esiele, by gunmen who stormed the schools during morning hours, forcing a fresh reckoning with the state of security in the South-West.

After a closed-door meeting with Makinde at the Governor’s Office in Ibadan, leaders of the governor-backed faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, led by former Senate President Adolphus Wabara and Interim National Working Committee members under Tanimu Turaki, said the attacks exposed the failures of the current security structure.

Turaki told journalists that the delegation came to commiserate with the government and people of Oyo State, but also to press for urgent reforms.

He noted that the state had invested heavily in security, yet remained vulnerable, particularly as political activities gather momentum ahead of elections. He described the situation as deeply worrying and urged the Federal Government to redesign the national security framework, which he called ineffective and long overdue for reform.

Turaki appealed to residents to remain vigilant, cooperate with security agencies and embrace community-based intelligence sharing, insisting that security must be treated as a collective responsibility.

The Ibadan branch of the Nigerian Bar Association added a sharp legal and civic edge to the criticism. In a statement signed by its chairman, Ibrahim Lawal, the association urged the Oyo State Government to immediately regulate commercial motorcyclists, arguing that proper identification of operators could help track criminal movements and curb kidnappings.

The NBA condemned the abductions as “barbarism” that must not be allowed to take root in a previously peaceful environment. It warned against allowing the incident to join what it called a growing list of unresolved atrocities across the country.

The association demanded that the perpetrators and their sponsors be unmasked and prosecuted, faulting what it described as tardy and opaque rescue efforts. It said the “deafening silence” around operations to free the captives did not inspire public confidence, even if some tactical details must remain confidential.

Reaffirming that the welfare and security of citizens are the primary purpose of government, the NBA insisted that both federal and state authorities must act decisively to secure the safe return of the abducted teachers and pupils and restore public trust.