The camp of African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has backed Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s call for an independent investigation into the abduction of pupils and teachers from Oriire Local Government Area, following claims by one of the freed teachers that they were released by their captors rather than rescued by security forces.
Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, made the call in a post on X on Saturday.
This follows the claim by one of the released teachers, Mr. Olatunde Zacchaeus, who during an interview on Nigerian Info FM, said that the victims were freed by the terrorists.
Ibe argued that the teacher’s account contradicted the Federal Government’s earlier position that the victims were rescued by Nigerian security forces after spending 56 days in captivity.
According to Ibe, the Presidency had, in a statement issued on July 10 by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced the rescue of the 44 pupils and teachers.
Ibe wrote, “On the 10th of July, the Presidency in a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga announced the rescue (and not release) of the 44 Oriire school children and teachers by our security forces after 56 days in captivity.
“But speaking on Info FM one of the freed teachers, Mr. Olatunde Zacchaeus claims that they were indeed released by the terrorists.
“Teacher Olatunde Zacchaeus’s claims is in stark contradiction to what the Tinubu-led APC administration told the nation.
“Is it that Zacchaeus, as a teacher, does not know the difference between to release and rescue, or is he an ‘agent’ of the opposition, or what?
“This revelation on live radio brings to the fore the issue of state sponsored payment of ransom to terrorists and bandits and conspiracy theories that some of the so-called abductions are state-sponsored.
“Does this revelation now explain why Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State demanded for a United Nations independent investigation of the issue?
“I agree 100% with Makinde, there’s a compelling need for an independent investigation of an international dimension to establish what happened in Oriire, Oyo State, Mussa village in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno and in other places where abductions has become the rule and not the exception.
“Meanwhile, what’s the update on the plan for the rescue or release of the abducted school children in Borno?”
Ibe shared the comments while reposting a Nigerian Info publication quoting Zacchaeus, who recalled the final moments of the victims’ 56-day captivity. .... quoted the teacher as saying, “They said we should thank God that we have been freed,” as he narrated the emotional trek back to safety.
POLITICS NIGERIA had earlier reported that Governor Makinde called on the United Nations and international human rights organisations to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Oriire abduction, describing the incident as serious enough to require independent scrutiny.
Speaking after receiving the rescued pupils and teachers at the Governor’s Office in Ibadan following their handover by the Nigerian military, Makinde said, “The circumstances surrounding this incident are sufficiently grave and unusual to warrant independent scrutiny.”
The governor disclosed that the victims had spent two days under military care for medical treatment and routine profiling before being reunited with their families. He had earlier explained during a visit to the 2 Division Medical Centre at the Odogbo Barracks in Ibadan that several of the rescued pupils and teachers required urgent medical attention because they were still frail after spending 56 days in captivity.
The victims were abducted on May 15 after heavily armed gunmen attacked three schools in the Ahoro-Esiele and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government Area. The attackers kidnapped 39 pupils and six teachers. One teacher was killed during the attack, while another died during the victims’ 56 days in captivity. The remaining pupils and teachers later regained their freedom and were subsequently handed over to the Oyo State Government.