Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate the abduction of pupils and teachers from Esinele and Yawota communities in Oriire Local Government Area in May this year.
The Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Dotun Oyelade, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
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Governor Makinde has publicly expressed uncertainties about the circumstances of the abduction, and, at a time, read political undertone into the incident.
Hours after the victims were freed on 10 July, Mr Mkinde said the abduction of pupils and teachers occurred just hours after he declared his intention to contest for president in 2027.
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Mr Makinde, who is contesting the presidential election on the platform of the Allied Peoples Movement, will complete his second and final term as governor in May 2027.
“For seven years, we didn’t witness anything like this in Oyo State,” he told a gathering including Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed and leaders of the APM in Bauchi,
“I declared to run for the presidency of Nigeria at four o’clock, and by 9 a.m. the following morning, the children were abducted.”
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Mr Oyelade said that the commission was expected to determine the circumstances surrounding the abduction and identify the factors that led to the security breach.
He said the panel which will be inaugurated on Friday, is also tasked to recommend measures to prevent a recurrence.
“The commission will examine the events leading to the kidnapping, assess the response of relevant authorities, and recommend measures to improve security and safeguard schools and communities across the state,” Mr Oyelade said.
He further explained that setting up the panel aligns with the governor’s commitment to ensuring a thorough and independent investigation into the incident.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the abduction occurred on 15 May, while the abducted pupils and teachers were rescued after 56 days in captivity.
Mr Makinde has expressed much scepticism about the circumsmtances of the abduction.
Days after the rescue of the victims earlier this month, Mr Makinde called on the United Nations and other international human rights and accountability bodies to examine the circumstances surrounding the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area.
Mr Makinde said while the victims had regained their freedom, the circumstances surrounding the incident were “sufficiently grave and unusual” to warrant an independent review.
READ ALSO: Oriire abduction: Now its time to count the chicks, By Babafemi A. Badejo
Mr Makinde said the incident raises questions that require independent scrutiny beyond Nigeria’s domestic institutions.
He made the call in a statewide broadcast hours after the Nigerian military formally handed over the rescued pupils and teachers to the state government following their release after 56 days in captivity.
The Oyo State House of Assembly threw its weight behind Governor Seyi Makinde’s call for an independent international investigation into the abduction.
However, the Nigerian Senate rejected the governor’s request for foreign intervention in the matter, arguing that the incident was a domestic security matter that should be handled within Nigeria.
(NAN)
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