A social commentator and public affairs analysist, Mr. Sola Abegunde has formally submitted memorandum to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry inaugurated by Governor Seyi Makinde to unravel the misery about the abduction and successful rescue of pupils and teachers in Ahoro-Esinele and Yawota Communities in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Abegunde submitted the memorandum through the Secretary of the Commission, charged the Commission to dig deep into information that will assist the State to overcome insecurity.
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FreshPage reports that no fewer than 49 pupils, teachers and toddlers from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State were abducted on May 15, 2026. Following the closed monitoring, profiling and tracking of relatives of abductors, the FG secured the release of victims without paying ransom after 56 days in captivity.
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FreshPage reports that Governor Makinde on 31st July inaugurated Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Oriire Abduction. The Commission was given one month to complete its assignment with provision for an extension if necessary to ensure thoroughness. The Commission is chaired by a former Justice of the Court of Appeal, Mojeed Oowade, with Olamide Tella as secretary.
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Mr Abegunde in his memorandum reveals eight facts, among which were;
It is very clear from day one that Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state has his suspicion about the abduction of Teachers and Pupils of Oriire Communities.
Governor Seyi Makinde’s suspicion extended to the rescue operation and this is clearly evident in his consistent references to the timing of the abduction which he claims is too close to his declaration of presidential ambition. Not only that, his reference to ” the circumstances surrounding the abduction and the rescue operation” in his state broadcast and the call for an independent International investigation must be placed on strong conviction that something was fundamentally suspicious about the abduction and the rescue operation.
In a security situation, the kind of what we had at Oriire Local Government, it is logically out of place for the Speaker of the Oyo state House of Assembly to have the knowledge about the demands of the Bandits. It is equally most inappropriate for the Speaker of the Oyo state House of Assembly to make such information public in the manner he did, considering the fact that such information ought to be regarded as highly classified.
The Bandits denied the information given to the public by the Speaker of the Oyo state House of Assembly and this denial raised further questions about the position of the Speaker of the Oyo state House of Assembly.
There is nothing to suggest that the Oyo state Government did anything about the alleged alarm raised by the Hon member representing Oriire State Constituency in the Oyo state House of Assembly.
It was reported that some of the Bandits were neutralized. Some were reportedly arrested. It follows that some of them escaped because the reports never said that all of them were either arrested or neutralized. It also follows that security Agencies must be on the trails of escaped Bandits, making the operation an active operation, because no one has said that investigation about the abduction has been closed.
It is a notorious facts that, wherever Mining activities are taking place, such areas are prone to Bandits activities. Sunday Igboho, a Yoruba activist and Commander of the Iru-Ekun Security network raised this issue during his efforts to assist Security Agencies during the rescue operation of the abducted victims of Oriire Local Government. He confirmed that Mining activities are ongoing in the forest around the Oriire and Komu Communities. The Governor of Oyo state have been silent about the activities of the Miners in our Forests, even, when a Member of the Oyo state House of Assembly from Oriire raised the alarm that suspicious movements were being noticed around the area.
The explosion at Bodija is not an issue that is supposed to be treated with kid gloves. I do not think that the Government of Oyo state did enough to unravel the circumstances surrounding such an unfortunate incident which claimed the lives of many citizens while many more were rendered homeless.
In another angle, Mr. Sola Abegunde raised twelve questions for the Judicial Commission of Inquiry.
Can a Judicial Commission of Inquiry of this nature, set up by the State Government, compel the appearances or participation of Security Agencies?
If the answer to the above is in the negative, can the Commission perform its duties effectively without the participation of Security Agencies, if those Agencies choose not to appear or participate in the proceedings of the Commission on Constitutional grounds?
Can the Commission perform its duties in a manner that likely ongoing investigations regarding the abduction will not be jeopardized?
Can the Commission persuade the Governor of Oyo state to shed his immunity in the interest of the citizens of Oyo state and ask the Governor to tell the whole world exactly what he knows about the abduction and rescue operation of the abducted victims and which everyone else doesn’t know?
Will the Commission invite the Oyo state Speaker of the House of Assembly, to tell the whole world, how he came about the information given to the public regarding the demands by the Bandits which they denied and where he derived the authority to make such an information public?
Will the Commission ask the Governor of Oyo state to provide information about how he treated the alarm raised by the Hon member representing Oriire State Constituency?
Will the Commission ask the Governor of Oyo state to explain in details, the number of Amotekun Corp that were present at Oriire Local Government on the day of the abduction, the roles they played, the number and type of light ammunition available for their use and mobility?
Will the Commission ask the Governor of Oyo state to explain the efforts he made to collaborate with the Federal Government, most especially, whether he briefed the president, either on phone or directly, when the incident happened and throughout the period the abducted victims were in custody until they were released and if he didn’t, why?
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Will the Commission ask the Governor of Oyo state to provide accurate information about exactly how much he has been drawing monthly as Security votes and for what purposes is the funds being drawn? This is very important because Governor Makinde’s initial response to the unfortunate incident was that he should not be held accountable.
Will the Commission investigate the circumstances surrounding the activities of Miners in Oriire and Komu Communities? What does the Government of Oyo state know about the Miners? How did they get into those places? Does the Government of Oyo state provide adequate security and monitoring around the Mines, knowing fully well that Mining activities have been synonymous with Banditry? How much IGR is Oyo state making from the Mining activities in the state? Which Agency of Oyo state is in charge of Mining activities within the state?
Will the Commission investigate the circumstances surrounding the explosion at Bodija? What has happened to the balance of 30bn which Governor Seyi Makinde, through his spokespersons confirmed, has been kept in a particular Bank account? What happened to the foreigner who was alleged to have been responsible for the blast? Has the Government of Oyo state done enough to unearth the mysterious surrounding the explosion?
Will the Commission investigate the circumstances surrounding the fire incidents in all the markets that had experienced fire incidents in Oyo state? Why is it that after those incidents, the affected victims always complain that Agents of Government, ( State and Local), always took over the markets, rebuilding them and offering them later at prices beyond the reach of the common man?
