Social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, on Tuesday led hundreds of residents in a protest through Ibadan, Oyo State, demanding the rescue of schoolchildren and teachers abducted by bandits more than a month ago.
The protesters marched through parts of the city chanting “Bandits must go” and “Leave our land” as they called on authorities to take urgent action against insecurity in the state.
The demonstration comes 32 days after the abduction of 46 people, including 39 pupils and students and seven teachers, from Oriire Local Government Area on May 15, 2026. One of the teachers has reportedly died in captivity.
The protesters later arrived at the Government House, where Governor Seyi Makinde addressed the crowd. Speaking through a megaphone, the governor assured residents that Oyo would not become “another Chibok” and pledged continued efforts to secure the victims’ release.
Makinde also referenced the recent death of a Nigerian Army lieutenant during an operation, saying every effort must be made to avoid further loss of lives while pursuing the rescue mission.
Addressing the crowd, VeryDarkMan urged residents not to remain silent in the face of the growing insecurity. He also warned against attempts to disrupt the protest and called for collective action against kidnappers.
“Anybody wey dem send to come and scatter this protest, I swear to God we go beat you dai. If we don’t gather here today, what happened to those children will happen another person. These bandits want to take over our country and we won’t allow them,” he said.
The social media activist also gave the Federal Government a four-day ultimatum to secure the release of the victims. He said Nigerians might have to explore crowdfunding and direct negotiations if authorities fail to rescue those still in captivity.
Tuesday’s demonstration followed a similar protest led by VeryDarkMan in Abuja on June 11 over the same incident.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers has remained on an indefinite strike since June 1 in response to the abduction.
As of Tuesday, the abducted pupils and teachers had spent 32 days in captivity, while security agencies continued efforts to secure their release.