Edo Schools Shut Down After Kidnapping Concerns Prompt Parents to Withdraw Children

On Thursday, several schools in the Edo North senatorial district were temporarily closed after reports of a kidnapping at the schools.

The Daily Post said that students were allegedly abducted from St‑James Grammar School in Afuze, Owan East, and Holy Trinity Grammar School in Sabogida Ora, Owan West.

Similar claims surfaced in Auchi, Aviele, and Agbede in Etsako West, as well as Iruekpen and Ekpoma in Esan West.

Viral videos showed students from Holy Trinity Grammar School running away from the premises. In one clip, a narrator claimed that suspected kidnappers had entered the school and taken some students.

In Aviele, a man and several children were reportedly taken by gunmen.

Parents in the affected areas reportedly entered the schools to retrieve their children.

Mr. Ayo Musa, the principal of St‑James Grammar School, denied the invasion. He said the information was false and that no suspicious individuals were present at the school.

“It is unfortunate that people are spreading false information,” Musa said. “There was no strange face or faces in the school to warrant the alleged invasion. Only God knows where they got the false information from that there are kidnappers at St James Grammar School, Afuze.”

The Edo State Police Command has also dismissed the claims as untrue. ASP Eno Ikoedem, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, announced that a 42‑year‑old male named Ernest Ugbomoiko of Afuze Community has been arrested for creating and spreading the rumor.

“The Edo State Police Command has identified Ernest Ugbomoiko, male, 42, of Afuze Community, as the individual responsible for originating and circulating the false information alleging that bandits and kidnappers had abducted school children in parts of Edo State, including Afuze, Ehor, Otuo, Agbede and Igueben,” the officer said.

He added, “The Command wishes to state unequivocally that the report is false, misleading and capable of causing unnecessary panic among residents. There was no incident of school children being kidnapped in the mentioned areas or any other part of Edo State.”

Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, reassured the public that the deployment of security personnel to schools and other vulnerable locations was not a response to this false report. “These deployments, which were part of proactive policing strategies, have been intensified throughout the state on the directives of the Commissioner of Police,” he said.

He urged parents, guardians, school administrators and students to continue their lawful activities without fear, noting that adequate security measures remain in place to guarantee their safety.

The Command warned that individuals who deliberately spread false information that threatens public peace, undermines security operations or causes public disorder will be investigated and prosecuted in accordance with the law.

It also encouraged members of the public to verify security‑related information through official channels before sharing such reports.