There was panic in a community in Oyo State on Tuesday after frightened parents reportedly stormed a primary school and forcefully withdrew their children over rumours of an ongoing bandit attack in a nearby community.
According to SaharaReporters, the incident occurred at Ijeru Baptist Basic School I and III following reports circulating within the area that armed bandits had allegedly invaded communities around the Ajawa axis.
Photos and videos of the incident showed chaotic scenes as anxious parents stormed the school premises, forcefully opening the gates and hurriedly taking away their children amid fear and confusion.
A community source who witnessed the incident disclosed that the panic stemmed from unverified claims linking the nearby violence to suspected bandit activity.
“The parents stormed the school, forced the gate open, and began taking their children away by force,” the source said.
The source explained that the concerned parents disregarded repeated assurances from school authorities, who maintained that the situation had nothing to do with a bandit invasion.
The information they heard was that bandits were around Ajawa, which is not true,” the source added.
The source further explained that teachers at the school attempted to calm the situation after contacting security operatives within the area.
The teachers came out saying they had contacted the police command within that district that they were told the violence had to do with a fight between Fulani people and the farmers there,” the source said.
The development comes days after terrorists stormed some schools in the Ogbomoso axis, killing and abducting students and teachers
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