The Presidency has faulted 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 request as unnecessary and politically driven.
Makinde had urged the UN to investigate the incident while receiving the 45 rescued pupils and teachers on Monday, insisting that Nigerians deserved a full account of the circumstances surrounding the abduction.
The victims were kidnapped on May 15, 2026, after armed bandits attacked three schools in the Yawota and Ahoro Esienle communities of Oriire Local Government Area, abducting 39 pupils and six teachers.
Responding, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the governor’s request suggested a lack of confidence in Nigeria’s security agencies, noting that the military and other security institutions had already explained how the victims were rescued.
Onanuga said the Federal Government had no objection to an international investigation if Makinde believed there were unresolved issues.
“Our doors are open. Let the UN come if he thinks there is more to it than what our military has explained,” he said.
He argued that no security agency would deliberately allow children and teachers to endure 56 days in captivity, especially when some security personnel lost their lives during the rescue operation.
According to him, members of the military and the Amotekun Corps died while pursuing the kidnappers, making suggestions of foul play difficult to justify.
“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 also accused Makinde, who is seeking the presidency, of allowing politics to influence his call for a UN probe.
“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 insisted that the military and the Department of State Services had already provided explanations on the incident, describing the governor’s demand as unnecessary and accusing him of politicising the abduction.
