President Bola Tinubu’s aide, Bayo Onanuga, has criticised Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde for calling on the United Nations to investigate the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oyo State, describing the move as unnecessary and politically driven.
Makinde made the call on Monday while taking responsibility for the welfare, rehabilitation and education of the 45 rescued teachers and pupils after their 56 days in captivity.
He said Nigerians deserved a full account of how the abduction happened and how the victims regained freedom.
Armed bandits attacked three schools in Yawota and Ahoro Esienle communities in Oriire Local Government Area on May 15, 2026. The attackers kidnapped 39 pupils and six teachers.
Onanuga said Makinde’s request showed a lack of confidence in Nigeria’s security institutions. He insisted that the military and other security agencies had already explained the rescue operation.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, Onanuga said the Presidency would not stop any international body from looking into the incident if the governor believed questions remained unanswered.
“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.
Onanuga questioned why Makinde wanted an international probe. He argued that no security agency would deliberately allow children and teachers to remain in captivity.
He said security personnel, including members of the military and Amotekun, lost their lives during efforts to rescue the victims.
He also described it as “unthinkable” that anyone would deliberately expose children, some as young as four or six, to 56 days of trauma and the killing of a mathematics teacher.
Onanuga accused Makinde, whom he described as a presidential aspirant, of allowing politics to shape his position.
“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 added that the military and the Department of State Services had already shared what they knew about the incident. He described Makinde’s demand as “unwarranted” and “absolutely unnecessary.”
“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 said.
Makinde called on the United Nations and other international human rights and accountability bodies to investigate the abduction.
He made the appeal in a video shared by Oyo Affairs after the rescued pupils and teachers arrived at the Oyo State Secretariat following their handover by the Federal Government.
The governor said the circumstances surrounding the abduction were serious enough to deserve independent scrutiny beyond Nigeria’s institutions.
He stressed that the request was not an attack on Nigerian institutions. Instead, he said it would strengthen public confidence by ensuring the truth emerged and anyone found responsible faced accountability.
Makinde also reminded the Federal Government that the Constitution places responsibility for national security on its shoulders.
External links
The Presidency of Nigeria
United Nations
Oyo State Government
