The Presidency has rejected Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s call for a United Nations-led investigation into the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area, describing the demand as unnecessary and politically driven.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the Federal Government would not stand in the way of an international probe if the governor genuinely believed one was needed, but questioned his motive for making the call.
“The governor has just expressed his opinion that the UN should probe this incident. Our doors are open. Let the UN come if he thinks there is more to it than what our military has explained,” Onanuga said.
He argued that no security agency would deliberately allow schoolchildren to remain in captivity for 56 days, stressing that some of the victims were as young as four and six years old.
Onanuga disclosed that the rescue operation came at a heavy price, with soldiers and members of the Western Nigeria Security Network, Amotekun, losing their lives in the process. He added that one of the abducted teachers was also killed while in captivity, describing suggestions of a deliberate cover-up as unthinkable.
The presidential aide accused Makinde, a 2027 presidential aspirant, of allowing political ambition to cloud his judgment and undermine confidence in Nigerian security institutions.
“It is just unfortunate that Mr Makinde, maybe because of politics, because he is a presidential candidate now, doesn’t have any trust in our own institutions and is now calling on an external body to come and investigate,” he said.
He further dismissed the governor’s demand as “absolutely unnecessary,” accusing him of trying to exploit the incident for political gain.
“The man is just playing politics, and it is the politics of the bizarre. He wants to weaponise anything available, including dredging up a strange conspiracy theory,” Onanuga added.
Makinde had made the call earlier on Monday while receiving 45 rescued pupils and teachers formally handed over to the Oyo State Government by the Federal Government, following their release after 56 days in captivity.
The governor insisted the circumstances of the abduction and rescue were serious enough to warrant independent international scrutiny, calling on relevant UN human rights and accountability mechanisms to examine the facts.
He maintained that the request was not aimed at discrediting Nigerian institutions but at strengthening public confidence through transparency, adding that Nigerians deserved to know whether there were institutional failures, negligence, or collusion behind the incident.
“This is not about politics. It is about justice for the victims, reassurance for our people, and restoring public confidence that every Nigerian child can go to school without fear,” Makinde said.
READ ALSO:
- Presidency Slams Makinde Over UN Probe Demand on Oyo Abduction
- London-based Film producer and actor premieres ‘Silent Blue Light’ in Lagos
- Remembering a Legend: Omooba Abimbola Onabanjo Marks Awujale’s First Memorial With Heartfelt Tribute
- Rescued Oyo School Principal’s Husband Urges Nigerians to Unite Against Kidnapping
- The 1999 Constitution: The Blueprint For Chaos | The Surge By Boma Lilian Braide(Esq.)
