Social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, on Tuesday joined residents of Oyo State in a protest demanding the rescue of abducted schoolchildren and teachers and an end to bandit attacks in the state.
The demonstration, held in Ibadan, came 32 days after pupils and teachers were kidnapped from communities in Orire Local Government Area on May 15, 2026.
Hundreds of protesters marched through major roads carrying placards and chanting slogans such as “Bandits Must Go” and “Leave Our Land,” while calling on the Federal Government and Oyo State authorities to intensify efforts to secure the release of the victims.
Addressing the crowd at the Iwo Road Roundabout, VeryDarkMan warned against any attempt to disrupt the protest and stressed the need for citizens to speak out against insecurity.
“If we don’t gather here today, what happened to those children and that teacher will happen to another person. I will tell you for free, very soon, they will take Nigeria from us if we don’t stand up,” he said.
The protesters later marched to the Oyo State Government House in Agodi, where they continued their demands for the safe return of the abducted children and teachers.
The protest adds to growing public concern over worsening insecurity and the prolonged captivity of the victims, whose whereabouts have remained unknown more than a month after their abduction.
Earlier this month, the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin, revealed that the abductors had allegedly demanded weapons, money and concessions on future Nigerian laws as conditions for releasing the victims.
Questioning calls for negotiations with the kidnappers, Ogundoyin said the demands extended far beyond the payment of ransom.
“To bring these children and teachers back, if it is up to you, will you negotiate with terrorists if terrorists ask for weapons, they ask for money, they ask for concessions on future laws of this land as part of their ransom?” he asked.
Also weighing in on the issue, the Take It Back (TIB) Movement criticised both the Federal Government and the Oyo State Government over the continued captivity of the victims.
The group described the delay in rescuing the schoolchildren and teachers as evidence of the government’s failure to fulfil its primary responsibility of protecting lives and property.
“The continued captivity of these innocent children and their teachers is unacceptable. Every additional day they spend in the hands of their abductors is a damning indictment of the failure of the Nigerian state to guarantee security,” the group said.
The movement also referenced remarks attributed to Governor Seyi Makinde indicating that security agencies had identified the location where the victims were being held within the Old Oyo National Park axis.