{"id":32581,"date":"2026-06-05T09:12:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T08:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/?p=32581"},"modified":"2026-06-05T09:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T08:12:13","slug":"security-tightened-at-aso-rock-as-sowore-leads-protest-over-kidnapped-pupils","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/05\/security-tightened-at-aso-rock-as-sowore-leads-protest-over-kidnapped-pupils\/","title":{"rendered":"Security Tightened at Aso Rock as Sowore Leads Protest Over Kidnapped Pupils"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ABUJA, Nigeria (FN)<\/strong> \u2014 Security was tightened Thursday around Nigeria\u2019s Aso Rock Presidential Villa as activist Omoyele Sowore led a protest demanding the release of dozens of schoolchildren abducted in Oyo and Borno states last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anti-riot police, military personnel, and other security agencies restricted access to the State House and the Three-Arms Zone, allowing only holders of official identification to enter. Vehicles approaching the seat of power were subjected to thorough screening, causing traffic disruptions across Abuja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The measures followed Sowore\u2019s ultimatum to President Bola Tinubu, in which he declared: \u201cWe\u2019ll march to Aso Villa on Thursday if abducted Oyo pupils are not rescued.\u201d On May 15, gunmen abducted 39 students and seven teachers from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, while 42 pupils were taken from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Borno State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, accused the government of negligence. \u201cYou cannot claim to be president of Nigeria and then refuse to do the job of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces,\u201d he told demonstrators. \u201cThis is not about hype or social media grandstanding. This is about the life of children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Protesters marched from Eagle Square through major thoroughfares in Abuja, carrying placards reading: \u201cRelease our children and teachers unconditionally,\u201d \u201cTeachers deserve security, not fear,\u201d and \u201cSchool should be a sanctuary, not a crime scene.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Tinubu has dispatched a delegation led by Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila to Oyo communities and approved the recruitment of 1,000 forest guards alongside the deployment of a specialized rescue unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nigeria has faced escalating kidnappings in recent years, particularly targeting schools. The 2014 abduction of more than 270 Chibok schoolgirls by Boko Haram drew global condemnation, but mass abductions have continued, often carried out by armed groups seeking ransom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On social media, frustration mounted. One user on X wrote: \u201cIf the government can deploy hundreds of armed men to block Sowore, why can\u2019t they deploy the same energy to rescue innocent children?\u201d Teachers Union President Audu Amba said: \u201cTeachers cannot continue to work under fear. The government must prioritize the safety of schools.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senator Shehu Sani, a former lawmaker and activist, tweeted: \u201cThe protest is a wake-up call. The government must act decisively against kidnappers or risk losing public trust.\u201d Aisha Yesufu, co-convener of the #BringBackOurGirls movement, told reporters: \u201cWe warned years ago that schools would remain vulnerable unless systemic reforms were made. Today\u2019s tragedy proves nothing has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sowore criticized the heavy security presence at the protest, arguing that resources could be better used to protect schools. \u201cYour children are also in schools,\u201d he told security agents. \u201cIf the school becomes a ground for kidnapping, one day your children too will be kidnapped.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protests underscore growing frustration among Nigerians who say the government has failed to stem insecurity, leaving vulnerable populations \u2014 especially schoolchildren \u2014 exposed to violence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ABUJA, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 Security was tightened Thursday around Nigeria\u2019s Aso Rock Presidential Villa as activist Omoyele Sowore led a protest demanding the release of dozens of schoolchildren abducted in Oyo and Borno states last month. Anti-riot police, military personnel, and other security agencies restricted access to the State House and the Three-Arms Zone, allowing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":32582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3699,2096,776,4,458,3,1138],"tags":[18429,18427,663,18430,18428,1820,5319,18282,18309,12022],"class_list":["post-32581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-economics","category-educational","category-featured","category-legal","category-naija-news","category-politics","tag-abuja-security-lockdown","tag-aso-rock-protest","tag-bola-tinubu","tag-borno-state-abduction","tag-national-union-of-teachers","tag-nigeria-insecurity","tag-nigeria-kidnapping-crisis","tag-omoyele-sowore","tag-oyo-state-abduction","tag-school-abductions"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot_5-6-2026_91023_newtelegraphng.com_.jpeg?fit=812%2C598&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32581"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32584,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32581\/revisions\/32584"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}