Aare Gani Adams
Oodua People’s Congress, led by the Are Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, alongside civil society organisations, on Thursday slammed President Bola Tinubu and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde over their inability to secure the release of over 40 schoolchildren and their teachers nearly a month after their abduction.
They made the remarks during a sideline interview with Punch Online at a town hall meeting organised by News Central in Ibadan, Oyo State, with the theme, “Oyo at a Crossroads: Security, Safety and the Future.”
Speaking on behalf of Gani Adams, the OPC National Director of Communications, Rauf Abiola, said the government had not done enough to secure the release of the abductees, who were kidnapped 26 days ago.
Several schoolchildren and their teachers were abducted during coordinated attacks on Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School; and L.A. Primary School, Esiele, in Oriire Local Government Area of the state on Friday, May 15, 2026, at about 9:30 a.m.
Abiola said, “The government has not done well at all. I have said it before that Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, specifically gives the responsibility of protecting the lives and property of citizens to the government, both at the federal and state levels.
“So, if anything is happening at the state level, it is the responsibility of the governor to stand up and put all machinery in motion to ensure the issue is resolved.
“It is a constitutional responsibility of the governor. If the governor has an offer of assistance from groups like the OPC, as led by Iba Gani Adams, I think he should embrace it. The South-West governors should also act quickly. There is no local government in Oyo State, across the 33 local government areas, where we do not have coordinators. We even have members assigned to secure schools,” he said.
Also speaking, a member of the Take It Back Movement Nigeria, Femi Adeyeye, described insecurity as a political issue, arguing that kidnappers, bandits and terrorists are products of policy failures.
He said, “They are, in fact, the result of things we failed to address for a long time. The children you did not send to school, the people you did not provide jobs or social security for — an idle hand is the devil’s workshop. They have now become willing tools for bandits and terrorists.
“It is also a political issue. The insecurity we have today stems from policy failures. We have given political office holders power, so they should use that power to solve the problem. The real solution lies with the government. They know where these people are; they cannot tell us they do not know.
“What do these criminals want? Insecurity in Nigeria has become an economic enterprise. There are kidnappers, those who supply them food, those who provide them with arms, and even negotiators. It has become a whole economy,” he stated.
The President of the National Association of Seadogs in the state, Bola Osodipo, also criticised the government’s handling of kidnapping and insecurity.
“Our major concern is that the government’s approach to kidnapping is not effective. We need to know what we are doing in this country because the situation has become a major problem nationwide.
“Sunday Igboho has announced his intention to go into the forests, yet they are telling him not to. Why? If someone says he wants to help tackle the problem, all he is asking for is approval and support. Everything has become politicised,” he said.
The Punch
