Anguish in Oyo as parents of youth corps members abducted in Imo lament fate

The morning sun rose over the ancient city of Ibadan with a cold, oppressive chill which had nothing to do with the harmattan or seasonal weather. Outside the imposing gates of the Office of the Governor, inside the Oyo State Government Secretariat, Agodi, the air was thick with agonising grief, raw anger and absolute despair. Mothers collapsed onto the hard, unyielding asphalt, tearing at their clothes and wailing into the dusty wind. Fathers, who had spent decades serving as the bedrock of family strength, buried their faces in dust-stained hands, weeping helplessly and uncontrollably before cameras and security personnel. The cool ambience of the canopy trees that provided early morning chill was not cool enough to cover the pain, tears and sweat of the agonising parents. Some stood in cluster mustering the strength to hide their tears. Others sat in the scattered broken rocks dispersed in the vicinity.