Police in Oyo State, in southwestern Nigeria, have confirmed the abduction of a 12-year-old schoolgirl in Ibadan, the state capital, and say an investigation is underway to rescue her and identify the attackers.
The Oyo State Police Command, a state-level branch of the Nigeria Police Force, said the child, a Junior Secondary School Two pupil at Monarch Model College, was taken on Thursday, February 12, 2026, in the Challenge area of Ibadan.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers, described as masked and travelling in an unmarked vehicle, trailed the girl’s mother before striking at a junction close to the school. Residents said the gunmen fired shots into the air to scare people away and punctured the tyre of the mother’s Toyota RAV4, with Lagos registration KRD 350 GP. The child was then forced into the vehicle and driven away through the Challenge area.
The incident was reported at Orita Challenge Police Station in Ibadan, where officers visited the scene with the girl’s mother for an initial assessment. Okay News reports that detectives have since begun questioning witnesses and tracking leads from the area.
Confirming the case, the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police Olusola Olayinka Ayanlade, said:
“Preliminary information indicates that at about 7:20 a.m., a 12-year-old female student of a private secondary school in the area 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.”
Police said investigators were promptly deployed and the victim’s parents are working closely with officers as the search continues.
The Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Femi Haruna, ordered what the command described as a comprehensive, intelligence-driven investigation aimed at securing the child’s safe return and bringing those responsible to justice. The police urged residents to remain calm and share any useful information, promising that tip-offs will be treated in strict confidence, and said updates will follow as the investigation develops.
