By Adeola Badru
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has appealed for intensified efforts to rescue more than 40 schoolchildren abducted in Borno State on the same day pupils and teachers were kidnapped in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, saying no Nigerian child should remain at the mercy of terrorists simply for seeking an education.
Makinde made the appeal on Tuesday while receiving the report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the Oyo State Government to investigate the abduction of students and teachers from schools in Esinele and Yawota communities in Oriire.
The governor’s appeal came 137 days after the Borno children were taken from the Mussa community in Askira-Uba Local Government Area on May 15, 2026.
Reports put the number of children abducted at about 42, although subsequent accounts have placed the number of missing children higher.
The Borno abduction occurred on the same day gunmen attacked schools in Oriire, where 46 people, comprising 39 pupils and seven teachers, were abducted.
The Oyo victims were eventually rescued after 56 days in captivity, while two teachers lost their lives.
Against the backdrop of the Oyo rescue, Makinde called for urgent action to secure the freedom of the children who remain missing in Borno.
“Let me end this remark by calling for intensified efforts to rescue the over 40 children kidnapped in Borno State on the same day as the Oriire abduction, who remained in captivity 137 days later.“
“No Nigerian child, irrespective of what corner of Nigeria they may be located, should have to fear for their lives because they are trying to get educated,“ he said.
The governor’s appeal underlined the painful contrast between the fate of the two groups of children abducted on the same day, with the Oriire victims now reunited with their families after nearly two months in captivity, while families of the Borno children continue to wait for news of their loved ones.
Receiving the report of the Oyo commission, Makinde acknowledged the relief that followed the rescue of the Oriire victims but stressed that their release could not erase the deaths, trauma and fear associated with the attack.
“Forty-six people were taken from their school on 15th May 2026. Two teachers lost their lives. While the operation was going on, an Okada rider also lost his life,” he said.
“By the end of the day, 44 people eventually returned after 56 days in captivity. Yes, the return brought relief, but it cannot erase those deaths, the suffering those taken will endure, or the fear that families continue to go through.”
He said the tragedy placed a responsibility on the government to go beyond expressions of sympathy and determine what went wrong and what must be done to prevent similar attacks.
“As a government, we owe everyone more than an expression of sympathy. We owe answers, action, and an honest account of what government must do better to ensure that when we say, “May this never happen again,” it is supported by action,” Makinde said.
According to him, the commission was established to examine the circumstances surrounding the attack, including the information available to security agencies, the response of relevant institutions and whether there were intelligence, administrative or operational failures.
He said the commission’s recommendations would be carefully examined and publicly responded to, with the state government engaging the federal government and other authorities on matters falling within their respective jurisdictions.
“I’ve just received the report. I went through the summary with Justice Awadi Reda. We will examine its recommendations carefully, respond to them publicly, and set out the actions we will take.“
“When the report raises matters for federal security agencies or other authorities, we will engage them directly,” he said.
Makinde said the Oyo Government had taken several steps to strengthen its security architecture, including operationalising the 615 toll-free emergency number, refurbishing and expanding the security control room and improving communication links among the police, ambulance services, Operation Burst and other relevant agencies.
But he acknowledged that the Oriire attack remained a serious failure that could not be overlooked simply because the victims were eventually rescued.
“No responsible government can point to earlier progress and ask families to overlook a grave failure of protection. Yes, they were rescued.“
“And I think, let me say this, the efforts to rescue the children and their teachers – we can never diminish that effort,“ he said.
The governor also commended security agencies, local hunters and vigilantes who participated in the rescue operation, noting their collaboration with the military, police, intelligence services and other federal agencies.
He, however, said rescue should not be the only yardstick for assessing the performance of a security system.
“But to me, personally, rescue cannot be the only measure of success. You can’t say, Oh, okay, well, they were rescued, so we were successful.“
“We must ask, what could have prevented the attack? What could have shortened the ordeal? And what would make children safer in their schools?”
He said the lessons from the Oriire incident should also inform national efforts to build a security system capable of identifying weaknesses before they result in attacks on vulnerable communities and schools.
“That’s why at the national level, because, like I said, I’m also a presidential candidate, so at the national level, I’ve discussed security research for Nigeria.“
“We must have distinct systems. The reason we asked the Commission of Inquiry to see where there may have been failure is because we have a system. So we can point to where the system broke,“ he said.
Makinde said the commission’s findings should translate into clearly assigned responsibilities and measurable action.
“So this Commission’s report will lead to decisions, assigned responsibilities, and progress that the public can follow. So our children’s safety must be the test of what changes,” he said.
Earlier, Chairman of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry, retired Justice Majeed Owoade, thanked Makinde for entrusting the panel with the responsibility of investigating the abduction.
Owoade said the commission visited the crime scene and affected schools and interacted with a wide range of stakeholders in an effort to establish what happened on the day of the attack.
“We visited the scene of crime. We were in Yawota, and we inspected the affected schools. We went from the bushes to be able to have first-hand knowledge of what actually happened on the fateful day,” he said.
He disclosed that the panel took evidence from 72 witnesses, including victims of the attack, traditional rulers, civil society organisations, individuals, experts and other stakeholders.
“On the whole, we took 72 witnesses, which of course included the victims of the attack, traditional rulers, civil society organisations, individuals, experts, and other stakeholders who came into our various observations and recommendations that are contained in this report,” Owoade said.
He said the report was designed to strengthen preventive security measures, intelligence gathering and cooperation between different levels of government and security agencies.
“We were able eventually to produce a report which is actually to be able to strengthen preventive security measures for the future, the ways of intelligence gathering, and of course the need for necessary cooperation, not only between governments, but also between security agencies and inter-agencies of governments,” he said.
Owoade said the recommendations covered the state government, local governments, and joint responsibilities of the federal and state governments, as well as areas requiring action solely by the federal government.
He identified the need to review the laws and management of forest reserves, particularly the Old Oyo National Park, as one of the commission’s significant recommendations.
“Of particular significance is our opinion that there is a need to review the laws and management of our forest reserves, especially the Old Oyo National Park, which belongs to the federal government, with the hope that security will be maintained while maintaining fauna and flora,” he said.
The retired jurist expressed hope that the recommendations would receive prompt attention in order to improve the protection of schools and communities across Oyo State.
“We finally hope, Your Excellency, that this report will be given adequate and expeditious attention to enhance the protection of schools and communities in Oyo State,” he said.
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