President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has faulted Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde over his call for a United Nations-led investigation into the abduction and eventual rescue of pupils and teachers kidnapped in Oriire Local Government Area of the state, describing the request as politically motivated and unnecessary.
Speaking on behalf of the President, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the Federal Government sees no justification for an international investigation, maintaining that Nigerian security agencies have already provided details of the rescue operation.
Makinde had made the appeal while receiving the 45 rescued pupils and teachers and announcing that the Oyo State Government would take full responsibility for their welfare, rehabilitation and education following their 56-day ordeal in captivity.
Reacting to the governor’s position, Onanuga said the Federal Government was not opposed to any international body examining the incident but questioned why such a request was necessary.
“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 stressed that there was no reason for security agencies to deliberately allow schoolchildren to remain in the hands of kidnappers for nearly two months, noting that personnel involved in the rescue operation also paid a heavy price.
According to him, soldiers and operatives of the Oyo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun, reportedly lost their lives while working to secure the victims’ release.
“Look at those kids. Some of them are just about four or six years old. Will anyone want to deliberately subject them to the trauma they went through for 56 days?” he asked.
Onanuga added that both the military and the Department of State Services (DSS) had already disclosed what they knew about the abduction and rescue, insisting that Makinde’s demand for a UN investigation was “unwarranted” and “absolutely unnecessary.”
The presidential spokesman further accused the Oyo governor of allowing political considerations to influence his position on the matter.
“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 also alleged that the governor was attempting to use the incident against the Federal Government.
“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 stated.
Makinde had earlier urged the United Nations and other international human rights and accountability organisations to independently examine the circumstances surrounding the abduction and rescue of the pupils and teachers.
According to the governor, the unusual nature of the incident justified an independent review beyond Nigeria’s domestic institutions.
“The circumstances surrounding this incident are sufficiently grave and unusual to warrant independent scrutiny beyond our domestic institution,” Makinde said.
“I therefore, with a full sense of responsibility as the Executive Governor of Oyo State, call on the appropriate international human rights and accountability mechanisms, including those within the United Nations system, to closely examine the facts surrounding this abduction and the circumstances of its resolution.”
Makinde, however, maintained that his appeal was not intended to discredit Nigeria’s security institutions but to promote accountability and strengthen public confidence in the handling of the case.
The 45 victims were abducted on May 15, 2026, when armed men attacked three schools in the Yawota and Ahoro-Esinle communities of Oriire Local Government Area. They regained their freedom after spending 56 days in captivity following a coordinated rescue operation involving multiple Nigerian security agencies. One teacher was reportedly killed during the period of captivity.
