Gunmen abduct 12-year-old schoolgirl in Ibadan

The Oyo State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of a 12-year-old female student in the Challenge area of Ibadan, describing the incident as a suspected kidnapping and assuring the public that efforts are underway to rescue her safely.

The victim, a Junior Secondary School 2 pupil at Monarch Model College, was reportedly abducted in the early hours of Thursday, February 12, while being dropped off at school.

Eyewitnesses said masked assailants in an unmarked vehicle trailed the girl’s mother before attacking at a junction near the school. The gunmen, who were armed, reportedly fired shots into the air to disperse residents and punctured the tyre of the mother’s Toyota RAV4 (Lagos registration KRD 350 GP). Despite resistance, the student was forcibly taken away as the abductors fled through the Challenge area.

The incident was immediately reported at Orita Challenge Police Station, where officers visited the scene with the victim’s mother for a preliminary assessment.

Confirming the incident to newsmen, the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Olusola Olayinka Ayanlade, said

“Preliminary information indicates that at about 7:20 a.m., a 12-year-old female student of a private secondary school in the area was allegedly abducted by unknown armed men at a junction leading to the school premises as she was alighting from a vehicle that conveyed her to school.”

The police imagemaker said detectives were promptly deployed to the scene, and eyewitnesses were questioned to provide leads for ongoing investigations. The victim’s parents are working closely with law enforcement authorities.

The state Police Commissioner of Police, CP Femi Haruna, has ordered a comprehensive, intelligence-driven investigation into the incident to ensure the safe rescue of the child and bring the perpetrators to justice.