Oyo Kidnap: Makinde makes U-turn, admits Tinubu’s team have been in state for weeks

By Tolulope Oke

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has disclosed that Federal Government security operatives have been in the state for the past two weeks working on the rescue of abducted pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area.

The disclosure comes days after the governor lamented that the federal control of security agencies had left state governors helpless in moments of crisis.

Makinde spoke on Tuesday while addressing a peaceful protest led by the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, the Trade Union Congress, TUC, and the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, at the Governor’s Office, Ibadan.

The governor said he had been meeting the federal security operatives repeatedly, sometimes three or four times in a day, as efforts continued to secure the release of the abducted victims.

“I’ve heard from the Federal Government. Security operatives have been here for the past two weeks. They spent their salaries here. I have been meeting with them morning and night, sometimes three or four times in a day,” Makinde said.

His latest comment appears to give a clearer picture of Federal Government involvement in the rescue operation, following earlier remarks in which he complained about the limitations placed on governors by Nigeria’s centralised security structure.

Makinde had earlier said governors were often described as chief security officers of their states but lacked constitutional control over the police, military and other critical security agencies needed to respond decisively to threats.

But on Tuesday, the governor shifted the tone, saying the abduction of pupils and teachers was a moment of national distress that required unity, not blame-trading.

“This is a time of national distress. It is not the time to trade blame. It is not the time to play politics,” he said.

“This is not the time for us to say it is the President that should have handled this, or it is the Governor, or the local government. This is a time to pull together as one.”

Makinde said he was personally distressed by the incident, recalling that his late father was once a primary school teacher in a community not far from where the attack occurred.

“My own father was a primary school teacher. He actually taught at Awole Dada, less than 15 kilometres away from where this incident happened. My father was there in 1959 and 1960. If something like this had happened to him, maybe I wouldn’t even have been born,” he said.

The governor described the abductors as criminals without humanity and urged residents not to take actions that could embolden them or divide the people.

“We are not dealing with normal human beings. Just think briefly, how will somebody take a fellow human being and slaughter him? Is that somebody that is normal? These are not normal people,” he said.

He appealed to teachers, workers, students and residents to trust the ongoing security efforts, assuring them that the government was doing everything possible to secure the release of the victims.

“I can only appeal to you, all the students, the workers and the teachers, to please have trust in your government. We are doing our best,” Makinde said.

“We shouldn’t provide oxygen to the people that want to see us divided. The response at this time should be to pull together and allow the government to see this through.”

Makinde also gave an assurance that the abducted pupils and teachers would return safely.

“I can give you the assurance that our children and their teachers, by the grace of God, will return safely,” he said.

He warned that insecurity threatens education, healthcare, business and every other sector of development.

“It’s not only schools. In an atmosphere of insecurity, virtually nothing can be achieved. Nothing. Schools, hospitals, economic activities, they all will be grounded,” the governor said.

Earlier, Oyo State Chairman of the NUT, Fatai Hassan, said teachers across the state were living in fear following the attack on four schools in Oriire Local Government Area.

Hassan said the incident occurred on 15 May and involved a public primary school, a public secondary school, a private secondary school and a private primary school.

According to him, 39 students and seven teachers were taken away, while a teacher, Comrade Joel Adesanya, was shot dead.

“We are here to charge His Excellency, the Governor of Oyo State, to please do more in fast-tracking the quick release of these people in captivity,” Hassan said.

“Teachers are now living in palpable fears. We cannot attend classes with our open minds anymore. We want our people to be freed as soon as possible.”

He demanded improved security around schools and declared that teachers would stay away from classrooms pending the release of the abducted victims.

Also speaking, Oyo State Chairman of the NLC, Kayode Martins, said insecurity had become a nationwide threat.

“Teachers and pupils were kidnapped. Don’t let that give you the thought that teachers and pupils are the targets. Every Nigerian today is a target,” Martins said.

NANS President, Babatunde Akinteye, said students across the country had mobilised in solidarity with the abducted pupils and teachers.

He said NANS chose advocacy over disruptive protest so as not to affect ongoing rescue operations.

“At a time like this, our priority and interest should be the release of our students,” Akinteye said.