Gunmen abduct dozens of children from schools in Oyo State while US and Nigerian forces launch fresh strikes in Borno, a day after killing the man described as ISIS’s global second-in-command.
The Nigeria strikes against ISIS entered a sharper phase this weekend, but so did the wider security crisis gripping the country. Even as the military celebrated its biggest counter-terrorism success in years, gunmen struck schools in southwest Nigeria, snatching children in broad daylight from communities that have rarely seen this kind of violence.
40-Plus Children Abducted in Oyo State
On 15 May 2026, armed men stormed schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, abducting at least 40 children from Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota Community Grammar School, and L.A. Primary School in Esiele.
Amnesty International said some of the victims were as young as two years old.
Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde confirmed that seven teachers were abducted during the attack and one was killed. A video released by the abductors on Sunday, 17 May, reportedly showed one of the captive teachers.
On Saturday, Oyo State police spokesperson Ayanlade Olayinka told the Associated Press that three suspects had been arrested, identified by the community. Police did not say whether they were still searching for more.
A local government official, Peter Wabba, told the AP that he had been informed the exact number of children taken in Oyo was 48. “The government is assuring us that they are doing their possible best to see that these children are rescued but up till now, we are still waiting,” he said.
The attack was rare for southwest Nigeria. Such abductions have been concentrated in the northeast and northwest, making the Oyo incident a signal that armed groups are testing new ground.
Borno Schools Also Hit Days Earlier
The Oyo attack did not happen in isolation.
Between 13 and 14 May, armed groups attacked schools in Askira Uba and Chibok Local Government Areas of Borno State, abducting 42 pupils. Amnesty International said that attack took place near Sambisa Forest, a known stronghold of Boko Haram and its Islamic State-linked splinter group ISWAP.
In total, Amnesty International said at least 82 schoolchildren were abducted across the two states within 48 hours.
The Nigerian authorities must take immediate and decisive action to investigate these incidents, rescue the victims safely, and take more concrete prevention measures to stop endless targeting of schools and children,” the rights group said in a statement on Sunday.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele condemned the dual abductions, calling them “a tragic national concern that negates our national development indices.” He said the National Assembly would push to establish state police and amend the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act when plenaries resume on 2 June.
The Night ISIS Lost Its Global Deputy
While the school abductions were unfolding, the military operation receiving most international attention was playing out in the northeast.
On the night of 15 and 16 May 2026, US and Nigerian forces carried out what the Nigerian Army described on X as “a meticulously planned and highly complex precision air-land operation” in Metele, Borno State. The target was Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described by both governments as the global second-in-command of ISIS.
AFRICOM confirmed on Saturday in an official press release: “The command’s initial assessment is that multiple terrorists, to include Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the director of global operations for ISIS, as well as other senior ISIS leaders, were killed during this operation. No US service members were harmed.”
US President Donald Trump announced the killing on Truth Social, writing that al-Minuki “thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed the operation on Saturday, saying in a statement that the joint mission “dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the Islamic State.”
In its February 2026 report, the United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team had identified al-Minuki as the head of ISIS’s Al Furqan office, which manages the group’s global affairs and coordinates financing across its worldwide wings.
Alex Vines, Africa programme director at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Al Jazeera that the killing “will disrupt ISWAP operationally in the short term,” but cautioned that the group’s decentralised structure means it can recover as long as its financial base remains intact.
Follow-Up Strikes Kill 20 More Militants
The Nigeria strikes against ISIS did not stop with al-Minuki.
On Sunday, 18 May, AFRICOM and Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters confirmed additional strikes in the Metele area, where intelligence indicated fighters had converged following their losses the night before. According to a Nigerian military statement, the operation killed more than 20 ISWAP militants. AFRICOM confirmed that no US or Nigerian personnel were harmed.
AFRICOM commander, US Air Force General Dagvin Anderson, said following the initial operation: “Make no mistake, our two nations will relentlessly pursue and neutralise terrorist threats and are committed to protecting our people and interests.”
The military described the Nigeria strikes against ISIS as part of “sustained efforts to disrupt insurgent networks, remove fighters from the battlefield and deny them safe haven.”
Africa Now Accounts for 86 Per Cent of ISIS Activity
The weekend’s events took place against a broader trend that security analysts have been tracking closely. Security analysts say the latest Nigeria strikes against ISIS reflect growing pressure on ISWAP strongholds across the Lake Chad Basin.
According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (ACLED), Africa now accounts for a record 86 per cent of all global Islamic State activity in the first quarter of 2026, up from 49 per cent across the whole of 2024. ISWAP, based in Nigeria’s northeast, is the group’s single most active affiliate.
The Lake Chad Basin, spanning Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, remains the operational heartland for ISWAP, which exploits porous borders and difficult terrain to move fighters and supplies across four countries.
Air Power Alone Will Not Be Enough
Analysts warn that the intensified Nigeria strikes against ISIS, while operationally significant, address only part of the problem.
Nigeria’s Minister of Defence Christopher Musa said after the December 2025 Sokoto strikes that military intervention would solve only 30 per cent of the conflict, with 70 per cent dependent on governance and stronger state capacity in the north.
Cheta Nwanze, a security analyst cited by Al Jazeera, said ISWAP’s recovery capacity was tied directly to what he called a growing ransom economy. SBM Intelligence estimated that kidnap ransoms in Nigeria generated $1.66 million between July 2024 and June 2025.
“The ultimate tool for control is the man on the ground with a gun, and the ultimate backing for that man is a functional social contract, which sadly Nigeria does not have,” Nwanze told Al Jazeera. “Until the economic logic that feeds these groups is disrupted, the cycle will continue.”
Roughly 200 US troops remain deployed in Nigeria in a training and intelligence-support role. AFRICOM has stated publicly that America intends to become “a lot more aggressive” in Africa.
Whether Nigeria strikes against ISIS and the killing of al-Minuki translate into lasting gains, or whether the children still missing from schools in Oyo and Borno are ever brought home safely, is the question the country is waiting to have answered.
