Bayo Onanuga, Presidential spokesman has criticised Seyi Makinde, Oyo State Governor over his call for the United Nations to support the investigation of the pupils and teachers abduction, he described the demand as a politically motivated and unnecessary one.
On Monday, Onanuga said the federal government had no objection to an international probe if the governor believed there were unresolved issues, but insisted Nigeria’s security agencies had already explained the circumstances surrounding the rescue 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,” he said in an interview with The PUNCH.
He challenged the governor’s request, saying there was no justification for security agencies to knowingly leave children and teachers in captivity for 56 days.
According to Onanuga, the rescue operation came at a high cost, with some military personnel and members of the Amotekun Corps losing their lives while pursuing the abductors.
He said it was “unthinkable” that anyone would conspire to subject the victims, including young children and a teacher who was killed in captivity, to such an ordeal.
Onanuga also accused Makinde, whom he described as a presidential aspirant, of allowing political interests 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 remained unwavering, stating that the military and the Department of State Services had already disclosed what they knew about the incident, dismissing the governor’s call for a UN investigation 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,” Onanuga added.