Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, yesterday, said he was ready to make any sacrifice, including sacrificing his life, to ensure the release of kids and teachers seized by gunmen in Oriire Local Council of the state.
The governor made the vow while addressing a group of peaceful demonstrators led by activist and social commentator, Martins Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), at his Ikolaba mansion in Ibadan, The Guardian reported.
The development followed the inauguration of a 17-man steering group for the Safe Schools Programme by the Ondo State Government. The programme is a federal project aimed at safeguarding students and teachers against attacks, kidnapping and hazards in schools across the state.
The Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) has denied involvement in the suspects arrested in connection with the kidnap of three relatives of former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu. The OPC urged security agencies to use the same energy with which the victims were rescued to rescue the kidnapped pupils and teachers of Oriire Elementary School in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
Makinde, who said his administration was deploying all the available resources to ensure the safe return of the victims, while saying that continuous security operations were being carefully coordinated to minimise casualties, acknowledged the concerns expressed by the protesters on the continued captivity of the victims.
According to intelligence at the disposal of the government, there was no record of any new casualty among the abductees after the reported killing of a Mathematics instructor in captivity, he said.
The governor stated that while he could not give details of the continuing rescue efforts for security reasons, the state administration was dedicated to exploring all authorised ways to ensure the victims’ freedom.
We will do everything in the humanly feasible to bring our children home. “I’m not a guy that leads from the back,” Makinde added.
I can’t tell you a lot because of the nature of the security issue. We are doing everything we can, including some of the things you have suggested. “We have already lost one instructor and we will not lose any more colleagues if we can help it.
“But if we get to the point where there are certain people that have to be sacrificed, including myself, then we will do it.”
He also commended the demonstrators for carrying out their demonstration peacefully. Civic involvement and public advocacy often serve to highlight crucial concerns and spur prompt action from authorities,” Makinde said.
However, he said the formation of the Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Amotekun, was one of the initiatives of his government to bolster the local security architecture and complement the work of conventional security agencies.
The committee was inaugurated at the Conference Hall of the Ondo State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, bringing together multi-agency coalition including the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Amotekun Corps, religious and traditional rulers and the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA).
The administration said the decision had become urgent in the face of the mounting security problem that threatens the future of education.
The committee is chaired by the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun, who charged members to give guidance and better coordinate the stakeholders.
Ajibefun stressed that the group was established purposely to perform functions that would develop procedures to prevent security risks in educational institutions.
In his own remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Akindele Ige, who is also secretary to the committee, said the setting up of the committee was in direct response to the increasing security threats on schools in the state.
But OPC, yesterday, said none of those arrested in connection with the abduction of the Adelabu family were its members, adding that the organisation will continue to assist security forces to fight crime in the South-West.
The OPC in a statement issued in Lagos by its President, Wasiu Afolabi, popularly known as Askari, thanked the NPF for the rapid rescue of Adelabu’s sister and her sons, saying the operation proved that criminals may be tracked and captured when security services act decisively.
But Afabola voiced alarm that about a month after 39 kids and seven instructors were taken from Oriire Local Council, they are still in captivity.
The continuing confinement of the school children by their abductors, he said, was causing worry across Yorubaland and raising questions about the competence of the authorities to safeguard vulnerable individuals.
The quickness with which the case of the Adelabu family was settled, proves that there is no hiding spot for criminals. “We call on the security agencies to demonstrate the same commitment in effecting the release of the abducted pupils and teachers in Ogbomoso.
He added those detained claiming to be a member of OPC should be treated as impostors and made to face the full wrath of the law.
“OPC has nothing to do with those arrested over the Adelabu family kidnapping. They are not of our membership. “Any criminal parading himself as an OPC member is a fraudster,” he said.
“It is unacceptable and distressing that the children are still in captivity nearly one month after their abduction,” said Dr Ayodeji Famuyide, the National President of Egbe Omo Yoruba North America.
“It shows grave shortcomings in security coordination and governance,” Famuyide told our correspondent, saying the episode further fuelled popular anger over the authorities’ failure to stop repeated attacks on schools and communities.
The Centre for Social Justice and Public Protection (CSJPP) also condemned the continuing captivity of the youngsters as a national tragedy and a scathing indictment of Nigeria’s security system.
Akin Akanji, the organisation’s spokeswoman, said any further days spent by the students and their teachers in captivity, was a failure of the government to do its primary duty of protecting lives and property.
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