A security policy expert and Political analyst, Dr Akeem Bello, has described Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde's call for a United Nations investigation into the Oriire school abduction as politically motivated, insisting there was no basis to link the incident with the governor's presidential ambition.

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, had on Monday called on the United Nations and international human rights organisations to conduct an independent investigation into the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area on May 15 while receiving the rescued pupils and teachers at his office in Ibadan, describing the circumstances surrounding the abduction as "sufficiently grave and unusual" to warrant scrutiny beyond domestic institutions.

However, reacting to the governor's position during an exclusive interview on Tuesday on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, Bello argued that linking the Oriire school abduction to Makinde's declaration for the 2027 presidential race amounted to the unnecessary politicisation of a security issue.

“As far as I'm concerned what the governor said is unnecessary, uncalled for and completely political, because if you look at the structure of the management of that abduction, you will see clearly that there is no basis for such. The governor should keep quiet.” he said. 

While acknowledging that citizens have the right to demand accountability, Bello maintained that the priority should be strengthening the country's security architecture to prevent future abductions rather than making calls he believes could undermine the confidence and morale of security agencies.

“That call is not bad, but it's unnecessary. The motive behind the call is my challenge, not the call itself. Of course, citizens can call for international investigation.

That's not a problem, but the motive behind this is completely rubbish, as far as I'm concerned”, he said. 

Bello, a lecturer of Political Science at Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology, Ikere-Ekiti (BOUESTI), further questioned the basis for the governor's request for an international investigation, saying Makinde had not publicly presented any intelligence, security report or evidence to justify his suspicion or the call for external intervention.

“The point is that what is he acting on? Is it a report from the Department of State Security, or a report from the police, or a report from where? What are his reasons for such insinuation? So, is he now saying, because he is contesting for the post of president so the president of the country will now cause trouble in his state, so that he will be diminished. Is that his reason?” he said. 

He also accused the governor of undermining the credibility of Nigeria's security institutions, arguing that security agencies deserved support rather than public condemnation, especially after the successful rescue operation.

He said: “I want the governor to come out clearly and explain to the citizens why he is denigrating the image and the effort of the Nigerian security agencies in the international community. There is no basis for that.”

Bello however clarified that he was not opposed to independent investigations in principle but questioned the governor's decision to make the appeal at this stage, insisting that such a request should be backed by clearly stated reasons.

He said: “I don't have problem with calling anybody but even without anybody calling, anybody should be able to investigate anything. That’s my point. But coming from the governor of Oyo State, considering the altercations that have been happening since this matter started, it's completely unnecessary. It's unacceptable. Until he can give us reasons why he's making the call”. 

The security policy expert added that while international organisations have the mandate to investigate human rights concerns, public officials also owe citizens a clear explanation for requesting such interventions, particularly on matters involving national security.

“Then the second thing is that the United Nations or whichever international organization is invited to investigate have the rights and jurisdictional responsibility to do whatever they want to do, because it has to do with human beings. No problem about that but the governor has a responsibility to also tell us his own reason why he's making that call. You cannot just make a statement or a call in such a manner that is not clearly defined for citizens to understand”, he added. 

Bello further argued that despite constitutional provisions placing security under the control of the Federal Government, governors play an active role in coordinating security operations within their states, making it inaccurate to suggest they are entirely detached from the country's security architecture.

“In the first place, when this process was going on, the governor has made it clear that the state governors are not in control of the security structure of the country. In theory, you may say that, but in practical, it is not true”, he stated. 

Expanding on his position, Bello maintained that security operations in the states are carried out through close collaboration between governors and federal security agencies, arguing that such cooperation undermines claims that state governments are powerless in managing security matters.

“The governors and all the security agencies in all the states in the country, despite the fact that they are federal security agencies, they are all working together. They hold meetings all the time, they report to the governor, they listen to the governor, and up to now that we are talking, I have not heard anywhere, anytime, that the security agencies in Oyo state have disrespected the governor, or did not listen to his directives. I don't know if that is happening, but I just said I have not heard it. So, which means there is no basis, you know, for the governor to come out and say that probably they are not in charge, or this situation should be investigated,” he added. 

The security policy expert further argued that the country's security challenges stem largely from inadequate funding and equipment rather than the commitment of security personnel, maintaining that officers should be commended for working under difficult conditions instead of having their efforts publicly undermined.

According to him: “We are still struggling with a lot of issues here, and I have said this several times, that these security personnel that we have in this country are not our problem because they are not well-equipped. They are not fit to act to the level at which we are expecting them. They don't finance themselves, it is the state that finances them.” 

Bello stated that security personnel deserved recognition for their sacrifices despite operating under difficult conditions, warning that public officials should avoid statements that could erode confidence in the country's security institutions.

“So, within their little effort, I think we should recognize them.

We should not denigrate them, we should not rubbish their efforts. So, saying that he does not rely or respect on the Nigerian security system, and requesting for others to come from outside to take over our security responsibility by conducting an investigation on his political shenanigans, I think that is uncalled for” he added. 

The security policy expert noted that the movement of kidnappers and terrorists into parts of the South-West was not a recent development, stressing that security experts had long warned about the gradual migration of criminal elements from northern Nigeria into other regions.

“Now, saying that kidnappers or terrorists have found their way to the southwest is not a new story. We have all known for a very long time that these guys are spreading, they are migrating. I have said it before on this platform, they converted from the northeast down to the southwest and converted their crime to commercial crime, which is kidnapping, abducting people and taking money from the people.”

Bello explained that while insurgents in the North-East had evolved into bandit groups following sustained military operations, kidnapping had already existed in parts of the South-East and South-West before the Oriire incident.

“However, while that was going on in the north, already in the southwest, southeast, south-south, there were pockets of kidnapping going on, particularly in the southeast and some places in the southwest. So, which implies that it is not new, it is not a today's story” he added. 

While describing the Oriire school abduction as unprecedented in the South-West, Bello acknowledged the public outrage that followed the incident, saying the coordinated response by security agencies ultimately led to the safe rescue of the victims.

According to him, "When it happened, it was bad. It has never happened in such a manner that, you know, a group of students and teachers were abducted together. Everybody felt, South-West is not a place for this business. And everybody came together and made the necessary noise and actions. The security agencies also went into action and the rest is history."

Bello further dismissed suggestions that the abduction was orchestrated because of Makinde's presidential declaration.

“So, kidnapping happening two days after someone declared for presidency is completely nonsense and making a connection between the two is complete nonsense. It makes no sense because people have been kidnapped here before” 

He warned against drawing political inferences from criminal activities, saying similar arguments could also be turned against the governor.

“What if someone comes out and said it was the same governor who said that these terrorists have started finding their way to the southwest or to Oyo state, and a few days after that was kidnapped. What if somebody said it was he that planned it? So, it's not necessary for us to be bringing in politics.” he said. 

Bello also defended the rescued victims for expressing appreciation to both the Federal and Oyo State governments after regaining their freedom, saying their gratitude should not be subjected to political interpretation.

“The school principal told you in a thanksgiving that they were told by those kidnappers or terrorists that the government has abandoned them but when this security personnel came and they were rescued, definitely they understand that it's the responsibility of the government to have sent them. And they thank both the federal government and the state government for the rescue. What else? Should they come out and say, it will not be well with the government for abandoning us, is that what the citizens are expecting them to say? Why can't we just thank God and appreciate however little thing that happened in this country for one day? Why do we always like the bad side? As far as I'm concerned, I think it's okay for them to appreciate the government.”, he stated. 

Expressing frustration over the country's political culture, Bello accused political leaders of manipulating citizens for partisan interests, arguing that such practices had contributed to the nation's persistent security challenges.

According to him: “These guys have taken all of us to be fools. They know how to manipulate us. In the north, the northern leaders have manipulated their children to such an extent that they are so vulnerable that they want to keep them like that, and that is fueling supply chain employment for the terrorists and all the bandits, and that is the story there today”

Bello urged political leaders to refrain from exploiting ethnic and religious sentiments for political advantage, warning that such actions deepen divisions and distract from addressing the country's security challenges.

“The same way in all other parts of the country, the politicians will manipulate us religiously, manipulate us ethnically, and expect us to be playing, you know, along their line all the time. This is unfortunate, unacceptable, and it has to stop. If they have issues, they should go and settle their issues. They should stop keeping us in the line of fire. We don't want that,” he added.

Turning to the broader issue of school insecurity, the security said educational institutions remained attractive targets for criminal groups because of the emotional impact such attacks have on the public.

He explained that attacks on schools often attract more attention than similar incidents elsewhere because they involve children, teachers and the future of society.

"You see, there is a particular emotion attached to school, it is a place for learning and a place to build leaders of tomorrow... So, there is a particular thing about education, because it has to do with children, it has to do with leaders of tomorrow and those training the leaders of tomorrow, so there is that psychological attachment, and the way people respond to such is always high." he stated. 

Drawing a comparison, Bello noted that before the Oriire abduction, another group of worshippers had been kidnapped in Ekiti State but attracted far less public attention because the victims were not schoolchildren.

"Before the abduction in Oyo State, there was an abduction of a group of people in Ekiti State... but there was no noise on that, because it was not a school."

According to the security policy expert, while attacks on schools in the South-West are largely intended to generate maximum public attention, those in parts of northern Nigeria have historically been influenced by the extremist ideology of Boko Haram.

He said: "School is a very sensitive area to commit such is South-West. Now in the North there's an attachment, coming from the Boko Haram, that Western education is a sin, there are a lot of things that happen, coming with Western education, that does not go down well with their own brand of Islamic practice, which has no backing, either in the Quran or the Hadith”

Bello, however, described the Oriire incident as unusual, noting that, unlike many school abductions, there was no widely reported ransom demand.

"Interestingly, the Oyo one is even unique, because I did not read anywhere, they made a demand for money. It was relatively not commercial."

He also questioned suggestions that the abduction was politically connected, insisting there was no evidence to support such claims.

"There is no connection, there is no basis. I think you understand my analogy. If the person is not a member of the federal government team, why is the governor making that stupid statement? The governor may not be stupid but his action may be stupid. If the governor is more interested in that, he can challenge me, and I will make a definition of what I mean by stupid action.

Because by the time we start the analysis, he will look that stupid.”

Bello further criticised both state and federal authorities for what he described as political rhetoric instead of practical solutions to insecurity.

He equally faulted assurances by the Presidency that similar attacks would not recur, arguing that such promises should be backed by concrete security measures.

"Even the statement made by the Special Adviser to the President is also questionable. That is the way they make unnecessary promises that they cannot stand by. The subject of discussion in this country today should be on how to set a mechanism that such occurrence will not happen again... They should work hard, show us clear evidence that it will really not happen again because we have been hearing 'it will not happen again', not today”