The Christian Association of Nigeria has denounced the abduction of pupils, teachers and school officials in coordinated attacks on schools in the Ahoro-Esinele and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, describing the incident as a national disgrace.

Armed assailants were reported to have stormed multiple schools, shooting sporadically, killing residents and seizing dozens of children and educators in an operation that sent shockwaves through the largely agrarian communities and beyond.

In a strongly worded statement signed by its President, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, CAN said the daylight invasion of schools by gunmen underscored a frightening collapse of security across Nigeria and the dangerous spread of organised criminal violence into the South-West, a region once considered relatively secure.

The association said it was intolerable and utterly unacceptable that Nigerian children could no longer sit safely in classrooms without fear of being kidnapped by armed gangs, warning that the attacks represented a direct assault on the conscience of the nation.

CAN also mourned the reported killing of an assistant headmaster who was said to have tried to shield pupils during the onslaught, as well as other victims caught in the violence, insisting that their sacrifice must not be forgotten and that those responsible must be tracked down and prosecuted.

The Christian body lamented growing public anger over repeated mass abductions and rural attacks, noting that Nigerians were exhausted by condolences without consequences and promises without protection. It warned that the failure to dismantle kidnapping networks was steadily normalising terror and eroding public confidence in the state.

According to the statement, insecurity that was once largely confined to parts of northern Nigeria is now spreading into the South-West and other regions, threatening national stability and the safety of future generations.

CAN called on the Federal Government, security agencies and the Oyo State Government to launch an immediate, coordinated operation to rescue all abducted victims and bring the perpetrators and their collaborators to justice, urging that every available security and intelligence resource be deployed.

The association stressed that schools must never be surrendered to criminal groups and urged authorities to fortify security around rural communities, forest corridors and known criminal hideouts. It warned that when children are hunted in their classrooms, silence becomes complicity and delay becomes dangerous.

CAN expressed solidarity with affected families, churches and residents of Oriire Local Government Area, offering prayers for the safe return of all abducted victims and renewed resolve to defend the rights and safety of Nigerian children.