The Nigerian Air Force has stepped up aerial surveillance support for the search for teachers and pupils abducted from two communities in Oyo State, as security agencies continue efforts to bring them home. Governor Seyi Makinde disclosed the deployment on 5 June 2026, saying the surveillance platform was put in place soon after the abduction was reported.
Makinde said the Air Force made the platform available while Oyo State’s newly acquired aerial assets are still being assembled at the NAF Base in Lagos. He said the state bought the equipment after consulting the Air Force so it would have access to maintenance support, engineering expertise and pilot training, and added that the assets should strengthen security operations in Oyo and neighbouring states once fully operational. The immediate benefit, for now, is simpler: intelligence gathered from the NAF missions is helping security agencies track the search and coordinate their response.
The pupils and teachers were taken on May 15 in a fatal bandit attack on the Baptist Nursery and Primary School in Yawota, Community Grammar School in Esiele and L.A. Primary School in Oriire Local Government Area. One of the teachers later died in captivity. President Bola Tinubu has since approved 1,000 forest guards and a special rescue team, underscoring how far the case has reached beyond one local emergency.
But the key fact has not changed. The Nigerian Air Force is already flying surveillance support, and the abducted pupils and teachers have not yet been reported rescued. Air Vice Marshal Abubakar Suleh said the service remains committed to working with other security agencies and stakeholders to safeguard lives and property, and that commitment now turns on whether the current operation can move from tracking to recovery.
