The waiting began before sunrise as Oyo pupils finally reunited with their families.
Outside the Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso, anxious parents gathered quietly, clutching phones, prayer beads and one another as they waited for news they had imagined for nearly two months.
Some prayed softly. Others stared at the hospital gates.
Inside were the schoolchildren and teachers rescued after spending 56 days in captivity following their abduction from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
For the families outside, there was only one question: When will they come out?
The answer came shortly after the hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Prof. Olawale Olakulehin, emerged with a list of names.
One by one, he announced the victims who had been certified medically fit for discharge.
Each name transformed the atmosphere.
Parents rushed forward, tears streaming down their faces. Mothers embraced children they feared they might never see again. Some knelt in prayer, others rolled on the ground in thanksgiving, while fathers lifted their sons and daughters into the air in celebration.
For many, the reunion marked the end of 56 days filled with uncertainty, sleepless nights and unanswered questions.
Among those leaving the hospital was teacher Mary Dahunsi, her baby strapped to her back as she walked beside her husband.
“We thank God for life,” she said.
“Thanks to President Bola Tinubu, Governor Seyi Makinde, security agencies, clerics and Nigerians for praying for us and for not forgetting us in the bush. We pray this does not happen to anyone.”
The ordeal began on 15 May, when gunmen stormed Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, L.A. Primary School and Community Grammar School in Oriire Local Government Area, abducting 39 pupils and six teachers.
After weeks of uncertainty, the victims regained their freedom on 10 July before being taken to LAUTECH Teaching Hospital for medical examinations and psychological assessment.
Prof. Olakulehin said 31 of the 39 rescued pupils had been discharged after doctors confirmed they were medically fit, while eight remained under observation.
During the medical assessment, doctors also discovered that one of the children had a congenital heart defect, a condition the parents had been unaware of.
Hospital officials said the child was stable and receiving appropriate care, adding that the Oyo State Government would be notified to facilitate further treatment.
Despite the trauma, several parents said they would not abandon their communities.
One mother, reunited with all four of her children as well as her son’s wife, said gratitude had replaced despair.
“I only thank God,” she said, holding back tears.
While families celebrated, attention was already shifting to preventing similar attacks.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, said the Federal Government planned to establish two military bases and deploy specialised security units in Oriire Local Government Area to strengthen security.
For security officials, the rescue marked the end of a complex operation.
For the families, it was something much simpler.
It was the day empty classrooms gave way to full homes again, and children who had disappeared into the bush finally returned to the arms that had waited 56 long days for them.
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