Senator Adams Oshiomhole has taken a swipe at Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde over his call for the United Nations (UN) to investigate the circumstances surrounding the rescue of the abducted Oyo schoolchildren. Speaking during plenary at the Senate, the former Edo State governor described Makinde's position as "most unstatesmanlike," arguing that it sends the wrong message about Nigeria's ability to handle its own security matters.
Oshiomhole defends military rescue operation
The comments come after the successful rescue of pupils and staff who were abducted from a school in Oyo State. The operation, carried out by Nigerian security forces, ended after the victims spent several weeks in captivity. Oshiomhole praised the Nigerian Armed Forces for rescuing the victims without paying ransom and urged Nigerians to support the military instead of politicising the rescue operation.
"Mr. President, I read this morning in newspapers and I've seen it even in the electronic, the governor of Oyo State calling on the United Nations to investigate the overall circumstances surrounding the kidnap and even the rescue. I thought that was the most unstatesmanlike," Oshiomhole said during the plenary.
Makinde's call for UN probe sparks controversy
Governor Seyi Makinde sparked controversy after advocating for an independent UN investigation to unearth the full "circumstances" of both the kidnapping and the rescue. He argued that the military deliberately avoided paying ransom and instead worked quietly until they could rescue the victims. However, Oshiomhole insisted that Nigeria is a sovereign nation and should not be inviting foreign organisations to investigate its internal security operations.
"Nigeria is a sovereign nation. When we wake up and call on foreign authorities to investigate... our armed forces have shown that without paying ransom, even if it meant that these children and some of the elders had to be in captivity for almost two months, the armed forces were working quietly to have these rescue operations," Oshiomhole added.
Oshiomhole urges support for security forces
Oshiomhole also said questioning how the rescue happened diminishes the efforts of the military, President Bola Tinubu as Commander-in-Chief, the service chiefs and everyone involved in the operation. According to him, the successful rescue should be celebrated across party lines instead of becoming another political argument.
"To trivialise it, to suggest as the governor of Oyo State seems to have done, that there is something that is not open, that the UN needs to unearth the circumstances, is to question the sovereignty of our nation and to downplay the achievement of the Commander-in-Chief, President Bola Tinubu and all the service chiefs and in fact all those involved in this process," the senator stated.
National Assembly urged to commend military
The senator further urged the National Assembly to openly commend the armed forces and support them with better equipment to strengthen future rescue operations. Oshiomhole urged the National Assembly to stand across party lines to commend the military rather than politicizing national security successes. He noted that security agencies may not be able to publicly disclose every tactic used during such missions, including intelligence gathering and arrests made behind the scenes.
"I think that is a moment in the history of a nation when, across party divide, we should stand in unison to commend what has happened... and to encourage the armed forces to build on it," he said.
Oshiomhole cautions Makinde against politicising rescue
Oshiomhole ended by saying Governor Makinde should avoid making statements that could be interpreted as politicising the rescue or undermining the achievements of the country's security agencies. "The governor of Oyo State should not be seen as downplaying, undermining and politicising an issue in which ought to be something that the whole nation, across party divide, should stand in unison to commend our armed forces for what they have accomplished on this occasion and to encourage them to continue to do so," he concluded.
