Beans seller unknowingly earned N20,000 daily from terrorists days before Oyo school abductions – Senator

A senator representing Oyo North in the National Assembly has revealed how a local beans seller inadvertently earned huge sums from terrorists who were conducting surveillance days before they abducted students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area.

Speaking during a television interview, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari detailed the sequence of events leading up to the May 15, 2026 attacks on the rural communities of Yawota and Esiele, where armed men stormed schools and kidnapped several pupils and teachers.

According to the lawmaker, the attackers first raided Yawota, taking nine students, before moving to Esiele, a drive of about five to eight minutes, to abduct more victims. He said a teacher attempting to escape through a window was shot, and a commercial motorcyclist was also killed after being mistaken for a pursuer.

Buhari noted that the affected schools are in remote areas with only a few classrooms, making them especially vulnerable to such attacks.

He then recounted an unusual observation from one of the communities. A woman selling beans and bread, who normally earned around N1,200 daily, suddenly began making between N10,000 and N20,000 in the two days before the assault.

“She thought there was a market boom,” the senator said. “Instead of reporting it, probably to give information to the traditional ruler or any of the teachers that there are some certain people who come here to buy, she thought maybe it was her business that was booming.”

It later emerged that the buyers were terrorists conducting surveillance ahead of the attack. The senator stressed the critical importance of timely information in preventing such incidents.

The Oyo abductions, along with a separate school kidnapping in Borno State on the same day, have sparked nationwide outrage and renewed calls for systemic reforms to protect schools from violence.