Masked gunmen abduct 12-year-old student in Ibadan as police launch investigation and intensify rescue efforts.
A 12-year-old student of a private secondary school was on Thursday kidnapped in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Eyewitnesses said the abductors, who were masked, drove a vehicle without registration number plates and fired shots into the air to scare road users and passersby during the operation.
One eyewitness, who declined to be named, said the incident occurred around 7:20 a.m.
“The kidnappers were masked and drove a car with no number plates. They pursued the girl’s mother and abducted her. Though the girl resisted, they drove off through the Challenge area of Ibadan,” the source said.
Confirming the incident, the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, Olayinka Ayanlade, said the command received a report of suspected kidnapping in the Challenge area in the early hours of Thursday, February 12, 2026.
According to him, preliminary information indicates that the girl 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 incident was promptly reported to the Police, and detectives were immediately deployed to the scene for preliminary assessment and fact-finding,” Ayanlade said.
He added that eyewitnesses had been identified and questioned, providing useful leads to assist ongoing investigations.
The police spokesman disclosed that the victim’s parents have been contacted and are in close communication with the command as efforts continue to secure the girl’s safe rescue.
He further stated that the Commissioner of Police has directed a comprehensive and intelligence-driven investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The command urged members of the public to remain calm and support the police with any useful information, assuring that such information would be treated confidentially.