President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has criticised Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, over his call for a United Nations-led investigation into the abduction of 39 pupils and six teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of the state.
He described the governor’s demand as unnecessary and politically motivated, arguing that Nigerian security agencies had already provided explanations about the rescue operation.
Makinde made the call while formally assuming responsibility for the welfare, rehabilitation and education of the 45 pupils and teachers rescued after spending 56 days in captivity.
The victims were abducted on May 15, 2026, when armed men attacked three schools in Yawota and Ahoro-Esinle communities in Oriire LGA.
The Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Makinde’s request suggested a lack of confidence in Nigeria’s security institutions.
Speaking with The PUNCH, Onanuga said the Federal Government would not prevent an international body from investigating the incident if the governor believed there were unresolved questions.
“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,” he said.
The presidential spokesman, however, questioned the basis of the demand, insisting that security agencies had no reason to deliberately allow Nigerian children to remain in captivity for nearly two months.
He said security personnel, including soldiers and operatives of the Oyo State Security Network Agency, also known as Amotekun, reportedly lost their lives during efforts to rescue the victims.
Onanuga described as unthinkable any suggestion that officials could have conspired to expose the abducted children and teachers to the ordeal.
“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.
One of the teachers was reportedly killed by the kidnappers while the victims were in captivity.
Onanuga said the military and the Department of State Services had already disclosed the information available to them regarding the abduction and rescue.
He described the governor’s demand as “unwarranted” and “absolutely unnecessary.”
The presidential aide accused Makinde of allowing his political ambition to influence his position on the incident.
“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,” Onanuga said.
He further accused the governor of attempting to weaponise the abduction controversy 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,” he added.
Makinde had called on the United Nations and other international human rights and accountability organisations to examine the circumstances surrounding the abduction and rescue.
He spoke after the rescued pupils and teachers arrived at the Oyo State Secretariat following their handover by the Federal Government.
“The circumstances surrounding this incident are sufficiently grave and unusual to warrant independent scrutiny beyond our domestic institution,” the governor 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 said the call was not intended to undermine Nigeria’s institutions but to ensure accountability and restore public confidence.
