ONANUGA TACKLES MAKINDE OVER CALL FOR UN PROBE INTO OGBOMOSO ABDUCTION
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HOTJIST NEWS
Bayo Onanuga, the president‘s special adviser on information and strategy, responded to Seyi Makinde, the governor of Oyo State, who had called for a United Nations (UN)-supported investigation into the abduction of students and teachers.
Makinde, on Monday, asked the UN and other international groups to look into the events of the Ogbomoso abduction and the rescue of the victims, saying Nigerians deserve to know the full story.
He said, “The situation around this incident is serious enough and unique enough to require an independent review that goes beyond our local institutions.”
On May 15, armed people attacked three schools in the Yawota and Ahoro Esienle areas of Oriire Local Government Area, taking 39 students and six teachers hostage.
The victims were freed after being held captive for 56 days, following a military operation that lasted a month and involved several security agencies.
Speaking to The Punch on Monday, Onanuga said Makinde’s call was not needed because the military and other security agencies had already explained the events of the operation.
“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.
He questioned the basis for the governor’s demand, saying there was no reason for security agencies to deliberately allow children to remain in captivity.
“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 said.
Onanuga said the operation had a cost, as some military personnel and members of the Oyo State Security Network Agency, known as Amotekun, were killed during the mission.
He blamed Makinde, who announced his presidential run through the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), for turning the situation into a political issue.
“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.
The presidential aide described the governor’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 added.
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