THE Presidency has dismissed Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s call for a United Nations-backed investigation into the abduction of 39 schoolchildren and six teachers in Oriire Local Government Area, describing the proposal as politically motivated and unnecessary.
Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, said this in a statement on Tuesday. He noted that Nigeria’s military and security agencies had already explained how the victims were rescued after spending 56 days in captivity and insisted there was no basis for an international inquiry.
“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.
In his appeal, Makinde had said, “The circumstances surrounding this incident are sufficiently grave and unusual to warrant independent scrutiny beyond our domestic institution. 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.”
Receiving the victims after they were handed over to the state government, the governor argued that Nigerians deserved a full account of what transpired during the nearly two-month ordeal.
“Such scrutiny is not intended to undermine our institution. Rather, it is intended to reinforce public confidence that the truth will be established and that every person found to bear responsibility, regardless of office, influence or affiliation, will be held accountable,” the governor said.
Meanwhile, the Presidency said the rescue operation came at a cost, noting that military personnel and members of the Amotekun Corps lost their lives while pursuing the abductors.
It accused Makinde of allowing politics to shape his position, pointing to the governor’s presidential ambition.
“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.
Describing the governor’s request as absolutely unnecessary, the Presidency added that Makinde was weaponising the incident for political purposes.
Makinde’s demand is not the first public expression of concern over the Federal Government’s handling of the abduction.
Earlier this month, opposition presidential candidate Peter Obi criticised President Bola Tinubu over the administration’s response to the incident.
Obi said Makinde told him the president failed to contact the governor more than 50 days after the pupils were kidnapped, describing the development as evidence of a leadership failure.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.