Residents and activists on Tuesday staged a protest in Ibadan, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of schoolchildren and teachers abducted in the state.
The protest, held under the theme “Bandits and terrorists must go,” was spearheaded by social media personality VeryDarkMan, whose real name is Martins Vincent Otse.
Demonstrators urged authorities to intensify efforts toward rescuing the victims, who were reportedly kidnapped by armed bandits about a month ago.
Ahead of the protest, VeryDarkMan had called on residents of Ibadan to participate in the demonstration and sustain public pressure on the government over the continued captivity of the abducted pupils and teachers.
The protest followed growing anxiety in the state after more than 40 pupils and teachers were reportedly abducted in the Oriire Local Government Area.
In a related development, members of the Hausa community in Ibadan had earlier organised a separate demonstration, alleging ethnic profiling in the wake of the abduction as tension continued to rise within affected communities.
