President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has criticised Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, for calling on the United Nations (UN) to investigate the abduction and rescue of 39 pupils and six teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, describing the request as unnecessary and politically driven.
The criticism comes after Makinde appealed for an independent international inquiry while taking responsibility for the welfare, rehabilitation and continued education of the 45 rescued victims, who spent 56 days in captivity.
The pupils and teachers were abducted on May 15, 2026, after gunmen attacked three schools in the Yawota and Ahoro-Esinle communities of Oriire LGA.
Reacting to the governor’s position, President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Makinde’s appeal suggested a lack of confidence in Nigeria’s security institutions.
Speaking with The PUNCH, Onanuga maintained that although the Federal Government would not oppose any international inquiry, there was no justification for such a move because security agencies had already provided details of the rescue operation.
“The governor has expressed his opinion that the UN should probe the incident. Our doors are open. Let the UN come if he believes there is more to it than what our military has explained,” Onanuga said.
He questioned the rationale behind the governor’s request, insisting that no security agency would deliberately allow schoolchildren to remain in captivity for nearly two months.
According to him, members of the Nigerian military and operatives of the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) risked—and in some cases lost—their lives during efforts to rescue the victims.
Onanuga also dismissed suggestions of any conspiracy surrounding the prolonged captivity of the children and teachers, describing such claims as implausible.
“Look at those children. Some of them are just four or six years old. No one would deliberately subject them to such trauma for 56 days,” he stated.
He further noted that one of the abducted teachers was reportedly killed by the kidnappers during the period of captivity.
The presidential aide stressed that both the military and the Department of State Services (DSS) had already disclosed the available facts concerning the abduction and subsequent rescue, making the governor’s call “unwarranted” and “absolutely unnecessary.”
Onanuga also accused Makinde of allowing political considerations to shape his response to the incident.
“It is unfortunate that Mr Makinde, perhaps because he is now a presidential candidate, appears to have lost confidence in our institutions and is inviting an external body to investigate,” he said.
He further alleged that the governor was attempting to exploit the tragedy for political advantage.
“He is simply playing politics. It is politics taken to an extreme. He wants to weaponise the incident by promoting an unusual conspiracy theory,” Onanuga added.
Makinde had earlier urged the United Nations and other international human rights and accountability organisations to independently examine the circumstances surrounding both the abduction and the rescue of the victims.
The governor made the appeal after the rescued pupils and teachers arrived at the Oyo State Secretariat following their handover by the Federal Government.
He argued that the nature of the incident warranted scrutiny beyond Nigeria’s domestic institutions.
“The circumstances surrounding this incident are sufficiently grave and unusual to require independent examination beyond our local institutions,” Makinde said.
“I therefore call on the appropriate international human rights and accountability mechanisms, including those within the United Nations system, to carefully review the facts surrounding this abduction and how it was resolved.”
Makinde, however, insisted that his request was not aimed at discrediting Nigeria’s security institutions but rather at promoting accountability and restoring public confidence.
