The Echo of Chains: Ajayi Crowther’s Letter and the Unbroken Cycle of Abduction in Nigeria

By Renn Offor 

A feature examining history, memory, and the May 2025 Oyo State school abduction

In 1850, Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther, then a missionary and later the first African Anglican bishop in West Africa, recorded how his village in Osun was raided by slave traders. His family was torn apart, his father killed, and the survivors marched from Osun to Lagos to be sold into the transatlantic slave trade. His captors, he wrote, were Fulanis.

That letter is more than personal testimony. It links the 19th-century slave economy to the lived experience of a man who became a symbol of Christian evangelism and African agency. It also maps a geography of violence: the corridors between Osun, Oyo, and Lagos, shaped by mobility, raiding, and forced migration.

On Friday 15 May 2025, armed men attacked three schools in Ahoro-Esinele and Yawota, Oriire LGA, Oyo State. Community High School Ahoro-Esinele, L.A. Primary School Esiele, and Baptist Nursery and Primary School Yawota were targeted in what police called a “coordinated attack”.

Forty-six people were abducted: 39 pupils aged 2-16 and seven teachers. Among them was a two-year-old toddler, Christianah Akanbi. One teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was killed in captivity after a video of his killing was released.

The parallels with Crowther’s account are stark. The route from Osun to Lagos was a slave corridor in the 1850s. The forests of Oriire LGA now serve as hideouts for armed groups operating along the same belt. The instruments have changed, but the pattern of abduction, forced movement, and dehumanization persists.

The immediate contrast was the ambient political atmosphere. While families waited for news, political activities continued in the state. That dissonance raised questions about how quickly public attention shifts when kidnapping becomes frequent.

Governor Seyi Makinde confirmed the attack and announced a “coordinated state security offensive” involving military, police, Amotekun, hunters, and intelligence agencies. He said the state had moved into a new phase of continuous action with all security agencies and community stakeholders.

President Bola Tinubu condemned the attack as “baric” and stated that the federal government was working with Oyo State to rescue all victims. He expressed expectation of a breakthrough soon.

The Nigeria Police Force deployed additional detectives from Abuja to join the joint team on ground. Oyo CP directed Area Commanders, DPOs, tactical teams, Amotekun operatives, and vigilantes to move in immediately after the report came in.

Amotekun, the Western Nigeria Security Network established in 2020, launched forest and community-wide operations in Oriire and adjoining communities. Commandant Col. Olayanju Olayinka said they were using grassroots intelligence and familiarity with terrain.

Joint operations involved soldiers, police, Amotekun, NSCDC, Agro-Rangers, and local hunters. The rescue effort was disrupted when operatives encountered improvised explosive devices planted by the attackers, leaving several wounded. One Amotekun operative is in critical condition.

Police reported that abductors used the victims as human shields, requiring caution in any exchange of fire. Officials stressed that operations were being conducted meticulously to avoid risking the lives of captives.

Six suspects have been arrested as alleged informants and logistics suppliers to the kidnappers. Phone call records showed they provided route information through Old Oyo National Park to the bandits. Three more persons of interest were also arrested.

The role of informants highlights a recurring challenge: criminal networks rely on local knowledge and communication to move through national parks and forest reserves undetected. Investigations into the full network are ongoing.

As of Friday 22 May 2025, Oyo State Government and Police stated that none of the abducted victims had been released. Rumors of release were dismissed as false. Security forces believe the kidnappers are trapped in Old Oyo National Park.

The slain teacher was buried on 22 May 2025 at Ayegun Baptist Church, Ogbomoso. His killing was confirmed after a video was released by the abductors.

Community response included school shutdowns and protests by teachers and students in Ogbomoso. The Nigeria Union of Teachers, Christian Association of Nigeria, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, and Oodua Peoples Congress condemned the attack and demanded action.

The Nigeria Labour Congress said schools have become “hunting grounds” and called on the federal government and security agencies to protect children. NLC President Joe Ajaero noted that when criminals film themselves torturing the innocent, they are broadcasting their power and daring the state to respond.

The mention of Fulani identity in both Crowther’s 19th-century account and the current crisis is sensitive. Historically, Fulani pastoralists have been part of West Africa’s demographic and economic fabric. Conflating ethnicity with criminality risks obscuring the specific criminal networks involved.

What is observable is the weaponization of rural spaces by armed groups operating under the cover of pastoralism. Contributing factors include pressure on grazing routes, weak state presence in forest reserves, proliferation of small arms, and a criminal economy built around ransom.

The Nigerian state’s response to rural banditry has been inconsistent. Military deployments, aerial surveillance, and community policing initiatives have been announced repeatedly. The persistence of attacks suggests gaps in intelligence, inter-agency coordination, and local legitimacy.

At the community level, trust deficits matter. When people do not trust the police or local government to protect them, they either stay silent or resort to self-help. Silence protects kidnappers. Uncoordinated self-help can escalate conflict.

Ransom payments fuel the kidnapping economy. The state’s official position is not to pay ransom, but enforcement is uneven. When payments are made quietly and repeatedly, they incentivize further abductions.

Education is a direct target. Schools in rural areas are soft targets with high symbolic value. Attacking them disrupts learning, displaces families, and creates fear that outlasts the physical captivity.

The psychological impact on children who witness or experience captivity is severe. Even if released, many suffer from trauma, withdrawal, and educational disruption. Reintegration requires sustained psychosocial support, not just a press release.

Traditional rulers and community leaders sit at the intersection of local knowledge and formal authority. Their willingness to share intelligence, mobilize youth, and mediate between herders and farmers can reduce or inflame tension.

Historical memory matters. Crowther’s letter is taught as a story of survival and mission. When that same geography becomes a site of modern abduction, it forces a reckoning with how much the security architecture for rural Nigerians has changed.

Policy responses must address both immediate rescue and long-term prevention. That includes monitoring forest reserves, regulating grazing routes, strengthening local intelligence networks, and prosecuting financiers of kidnapping.

Technology and community-based early warning systems can help. Shared radio networks and mobile reporting tools have worked in other contexts. Their absence in high-risk areas is a governance gap.

The throughline from Ajayi Crowther’s 1850 letter to Oriire LGA in May 2025 is not that history repeats identically, but that unresolved structural problems—ungoverned spaces, weak local security, and a criminal economy—allow old forms of violence to reappear. Until those structures are addressed, the question of how to secure rural schools and communities will remain urgent.