Teachers in some public schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State on Monday staged a peaceful protest over the abduction of their colleagues and students by suspected bandits.

The protesters, who gathered in the early hours of Monday, carried placards and chanted solidarity songs while calling on the government and security agencies to intensify rescue efforts for the victims still in captivity.

Some of the placards displayed inscriptions such as “Their deaths demand action,” “Say their name, remember their sacrifice,” and “Noble teachers gone too soon.”

The protest followed Friday’s attack by gunmen riding motorcycles who reportedly invaded communities within the Ahoro-Esiele/Yawota axis of Oriire, Ogbomoso, abducting students and staff members of Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele, L.A. Primary School, Esiele, and Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School.

The attack also claimed the lives of an assistant headmaster identified as Joel Adesiyan and a commercial motorcyclist.

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, had confirmed that seven teachers were abducted during the incident, while the exact number of missing pupils was still being verified.

According to the governor, a video received by the state government also confirmed the killing of one of the abducted teachers, identified as a mathematics teacher.

“What we know is that seven teachers in all were abducted, and unfortunately, we got a video this morning that one of the teachers, the maths teacher, was killed by the terrorists this morning,” Makinde said.

Meanwhile, the Oyo State Police Command said it had commenced an investigation into a viral video allegedly showing some of the abducted victims pleading for help.

The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ayanlade Olushola Olayinka, said on Sunday that the command was aware of the video and was working with relevant security agencies on the matter.