The armed men who abducted students and teachers from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State have stated some conditions for the release of the victims.
The schools attacked are in Esinele, Yawota and Alawusa communities where gunmen struck on May 15 and carted away students and teachers, reports said.
The gunmen are said to have made four main demands. They demand the release of two terrorist leaders in custody, ransom payment, provision of two Hilux vehicles, and acceptance of Sharia-related law.
The two men they are seeking are Mahmud Usman (Abu Bara’a or Abbas Mukhtar) and his deputy Abubakar Abba (Isah Adam, Mahmud Al-Nigeri or Mallam Mamuda).
Both are affiliated with Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimeena Fii Bilaadis Sudan, also known as Ansaru, a splinter group of Boko Haram.
The group has been implicated in a series of violent attacks in Nigeria, including the Kuje prison raid in 2022.
The suspects were arrested between May and July 2025 and are currently standing trial at the Federal High Court, Abuja, security records show.
Usman has already been convicted of a separate charge of illegal mining, after admitting it was used to fund weapons for kidnapping and attacks.
He remains in the custody of the Department of State Services pending other charges. His deputy has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges and is still on trial.
The kidnappers are also said to be demanding about ₦1bn to be transferred to an account in the Republic of Benin.
