Oyo Schools to Remain Shut Until Security Improves – NUT

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Oyo State Wing, has said public schools in the state will remain closed until there is a clear improvement in security conditions and the government implements measures to restore confidence in the education system.

The union said the decision follows growing insecurity in parts of the state, including the abduction of more than 40 students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area on May 15, as well as the killing of two teachers in separate incidents.

Speaking in Ibadan, the NUT Secretary, Olukayode Salami, said the withdrawal of teachers from classrooms was necessary due to safety concerns and the psychological impact of repeated attacks on schools.

According to him, the security situation had made teaching environments unsafe, while fear and uncertainty were affecting both educators and learners.

“As much as we have casualties among learners in terms of abduction, we have higher casualties among teachers because two of them were killed,” Salami said.

He added that the continued captivity of abducted victims, combined with rising tension in affected communities, had made it difficult for teachers to operate effectively.

Salami noted that although the union did not immediately declare an indefinite shutdown after the incident, it was compelled to act when it became clear that security conditions had not improved.

He said parents had also begun withdrawing their children from schools due to safety concerns, further disrupting academic activity across affected areas.

The union explained that the strike would remain in place until government demonstrates concrete action, including the safe rescue of abducted victims and the deployment of preventive security measures to avoid a recurrence.

“The condition we attached was for government to intensify efforts and ensure the safe rescue of these people. Secondly, government must put measures in place that can guard against such occurrences,” he said.

Salami stressed that schools must remain safe spaces for learning and should not become targets of criminal activity, regardless of wider security challenges.

He also disclosed that the NUT and other stakeholders had recently held engagements with government officials, resulting in a communiqué and an agreed set of action plans awaiting implementation.

According to him, the union is currently monitoring government response to determine when conditions are safe enough for reopening.

While acknowledging that school closures cannot continue indefinitely, Salami said the priority remains restoring public confidence in safety within the education system.

He called for increased security presence across vulnerable communities, including intensified patrols and intelligence gathering in forest-bordering and high-risk areas.

The union also recommended coordinated operations involving conventional security agencies alongside local security structures such as vigilante groups and hunters.

Salami added that education would only fully resume when residents begin to see visible security interventions that deter criminal activity and reassure communities.

He, however, maintained that the primary responsibility for securing schools lies with government, which has the mandate, resources and authority to deploy security personnel where necessary.

The NUT urged the state government to treat the situation as urgent, warning that prolonged insecurity in schools could further undermine access to education and worsen learning outcomes across the state.