FACT CHECK: Did Oyo Assembly Speaker Confirm Ongoing Negotiations With School Kidnappers?

BY: Mustapha Lawal

Claim:

A viral Facebook post circulating on the page “For The Love of Naija” claims that the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, confirmed that negotiations are ongoing between authorities and the kidnappers who abducted schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.

The post states that “negotiations with the kidnappers are continuing” and attributes details of alleged demands made by the abductors to the Speaker.

Verdict:

Misleading. FactCheckAfrica found no evidence that Speaker Adebo Ogundoyin confirmed that negotiations were ongoing with the abductors. Available records show that the Speaker was, in fact, cautioning against negotiating with terrorists and kidnappers, not confirming active negotiations.

Full Text:

A Facebook post shared by the page “For The Love of Naija” claims that the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly expressed concern about “ongoing negotiations” with kidnappers holding abducted schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State.

According to the post, the Speaker stated that negotiations had become complicated due to extraordinary demands allegedly made by the abductors.

The claim emerged amid continued public concern over the abduction of pupils and teachers from communities in Oriire Local Government Area and efforts by security agencies to secure their release.

Because the post directly attributes a significant statement to the Speaker, FactCheckAfrica reviewed available official records, media reports, and the Speaker’s publicly available remarks.

Verification:

FactCheckAfrica reviewed reports from major Nigerian media organisations, including Punch, BBC, and other reports covering the June 2026 plenary session of the Oyo State House of Assembly where lawmakers discussed the abduction.

The Assembly’s deliberations followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by the lawmaker representing Oriire State Constituency, Johnson Ogundele, who called attention to worsening insecurity and the need to intensify rescue operations.

In reports reviewed by FactCheckAfrica, lawmakers repeatedly emphasised strengthening security operations and rescue efforts. The Assembly also adopted resolutions urging increased deployment of security personnel and improved security infrastructure.

Most importantly, the Speaker’s publicly reported comments do not confirm that negotiations were ongoing.

In the available video of his remarks, Ogundoyin said:

Everything that is necessary for them to bring these children and their teachers back. If it’s up to you, will you negotiate with terrorists? If terrorists asked for weapons, money and concessions of future laws of this land as part of their ransom, if you’re the governor, would you accept those ransom? Would you accept those people to be integrated into that community? We don’t know the details. So, please, let’s be sensitive. The more you negotiate with these people, the more you will embolden them.

A review of the statement shows that the Speaker framed his comments as a hypothetical discussion about the implications of negotiating with terrorists.

He repeatedly posed rhetorical questions and explicitly stated: “We don’t know the details.”

FactCheckAfrica found no portion of the statement where the Speaker said negotiations were currently taking place. In fact, media reports of the plenary consistently described the Assembly as rejecting calls for negotiations with kidnappers.

According to a Punch report published on June 3, 2026, lawmakers “rejected suggestions that the state government should negotiate with bandits who abducted teachers and students.”

The report further quoted the Speaker as warning that negotiating with terrorists would embolden criminal elements and strengthen kidnapping networks.

What the Evidence Shows

The available evidence establishes that: The Speaker discussed the broader issue of whether governments should negotiate with terrorists and kidnappers. He referred to alleged demands involving weapons, money, and “concessions of future laws of this land” while making a hypothetical argument against negotiations.

He explicitly stated that “we don’t know the details.” 

Neither the Speaker nor the Assembly publicly confirmed that negotiations were ongoing. No official statement reviewed by FactCheckAfrica confirms active negotiations between the Oyo State Government and the abductors. The viral Facebook post appears to transform a discussion about the dangers of negotiating with kidnappers into a claim that negotiations were actively taking place.

Conclusion

FactCheckAfrica found no evidence that Speaker Adebo Ogundoyin confirmed ongoing negotiations with the abductors of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State. The Speaker’s publicly available remarks were made in the context of arguing against negotiations with terrorists and kidnappers. His comments do not amount to confirmation that negotiations were underway. The viral Facebook post therefore misrepresents the Speaker’s remarks by presenting a hypothetical discussion about negotiations as evidence that negotiations were actually taking place.