Fearing that their children would be abducted, parents and guardians stormed schools in Iperu, Ikenne Local Government Area, Ogun State, raising alarm.
The hometown of Governor Dapo Abiodun is Iperu.
The parents who spoke claimed to have heard that five children were abducted by gunmen who broke into Akesan Community Grammar School in Iperu.
“We are going to pick our children, we got information that gunmen have kidnapped five kids in Akesan,” a parent stated as they ran to pick their wards.
It was reported that parents thronged different schools in Iperu with bikes, taking home their children.
When one of the schools was visited on Tuesday, some policemen were sighted within the premises. They had been deployed to the school following the kidnapping rumour.
Some youth leaders were also on the ground to monitor the situation.
But the Principal of Akesan Community Grammar School, who identified herself as Mrs A. O. Yusuf stated that there was no incident of kidnapping in the school.
According to the Principal, a woman had previously cried into the school, claiming she was there to confirm her grandchild had not been kidnapped.
“When the woman cried to us that she wanted to confirm that her grandchild was safe, we called out the child and she even gave her money.
“We didn’t know there were rumours in the town of Iperu that our children were kidnapped. Before we knew it, parents started trooping in to pick up their children.
“I tried to stop them, but they were adamant. I even told them to sign before they go away with the kids, but they wouldn’t listen.
“Some of them even said their children would not come to school again until this place is fenced. There is nothing like kidnapping here. We are all safe. I think the recent cases of kidnapping around Iperu triggered this fear. We are fine here, but the parents have taken away their children,” Mrs Yusuf stated.
It was recounted that three weeks ago, roughly eight gunmen stormed the Ajadeh Event Centre in Iperu Remo along Sagamu road, killing Yinka Olowojobi, a lecturer at Babcock University Ilisan Remo, and kidnapping two others.
Additionally, it was stated that on Friday, a group of gunmen numbering up to seven, abducted seven additional travelers along the Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode Expressway and killed one person.
The travelers were ambushed and detained by the assailants, who were reportedly carrying AK-47 rifles, between the highway’s Ilisan, Ceplast industry and Iperu junction axis.
