Amid rising concern over the whereabouts of dozens of schoolchildren and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, residents have increasingly turned to spiritual and traditional intervention in hopes of securing their release.
A video circulating on Tuesday, May 19, and shared by The Cable, showed a traditional priest identified as the Onisa of Esin Ele, Muraina Mutairo, carrying out a ritual aimed at invoking spiritual forces against the abductors and seeking the safe return of the victims.
In the footage, Mutairo is seen dressed in ceremonial attire, chanting incantations in Yoruba while calling on ancestral guardians of the land to rescue the abducted students and ensure their safe return, declaring that they should “overcome the enemies.”
He was also joined in parts of the ritual by a local monarch, who offered prayers in support of the priest’s invocation, reinforcing calls for the unharmed release of the students and their teachers.
The priest further appealed for confusion and discord within the camp of the abductors, while also praying that security operatives apprehend those responsible, “dead or alive.”
According to reports, outrage has continued to grow following Friday’s attack in the area, during which armed bandits invaded three schools in Oriire Local Government Area on May 16, killing two people and abducting about 30 students and teachers.
The affected institutions include Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School, where staff, pupils, and students were taken during the coordinated raid that has since sparked widespread condemnation and calls for urgent rescue efforts.
