Who’s Afraid of UN Probe of Oriire Abduction?

With Nigeria’s membership of the United Nations, Ejiofor Alike reports that Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State’s suggestion for the global body to probe the abduction of the recently released pupils and teachers in his state should not be dismissed as such action could bring solutions to the unending incidents of school abductions, which have ridiculed Nigeria

The agents of the Nigerian state’s growing penchant for rejecting any suggestion of foreign intervention in the insecurity plaguing the country is becoming increasingly worrisome. No country in Africa that is not fighting civil war is experiencing the level of insecurity being experienced by Nigerians. 

Many foreign countries and agencies of the United Nations (UN) have committed millions of dollars in aid to ameliorate the sufferings of victims of insecurity in Nigeria.

The Nigerian government welcomes this support and has been asking for more financial aid and humanitarian services.

However, whenever suggestions are made by well-meaning Nigerians for these foreign powers and agencies to intervene directly to unravel and tackle the causes of this widespread violence that has defied home-made solutions, the agents of the Nigerian state will rise in opposition.

These agents will claim that foreign intervention in the country’s domestic affairs violates the country’s sovereignty.

Foreign countries and international agencies that fund the foreign aid workers who are being killed in the North-east while providing aid to the victims of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups are not accused of interfering in Nigeria’s internal affairs.

 But, when foreign agencies and countries are called upon to probe into the insecurity that is costing them millions of dollars, government agents will argue that their involvement amounts to interference in Nigeria’s domestic affairs.

A recent case was when the United States President Donald Trump sent soldiers to fight Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in the country, claiming that Christians were being killed by Islamic terrorists.

These agents of the Nigerian state had argued that the Nigerian military has the capacity to fight these terrorists.

It is on record that Nigeria became the greatest beneficiary of the US intervention as the joint military operation between the two countries eliminated Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, who was described by US President Trump as the “second-in-command of ISIS globally” and “the most active terrorist in the world”.

The joint operation also neutralised other leaders of ISWAP and killed hundreds of other fighters.

A senior US counterterrorism official also claimed that American forces recovered the largest cache of terrorist electronic materials since the September 11, 2001 attacks during the counterterrorism operation against Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Nigeria.

The US Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council, Sebastian Gorka, made the disclosure, while highlighting what he described as major successes in the Trump administration’s counterterrorism campaign.

According to Gorka, the operation resulted in the killing of 199 jihadists and the seizure of an unprecedented volume of intelligence materials.

Those who had opposed the direct involvement of the US soldiers in the fight against terrorism, citing Nigeria’s sovereignty, did not contest these claims.

Last week, all hell was let loose again when the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde suggested that the UN should probe into the abduction of pupils and teachers in his state.

Investigation is not an indictment and many Nigerians would welcome such independent investigation if it would help in finding solutions to school abductions, which have ridiculed the country.

But the Presidency quickly criticised the governor, describing the demand as unnecessary and politically-motivated.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the governor’s request suggested a lack of confidence in Nigeria’s security institutions, insisting that the military and other security agencies had already provided explanations on the rescue operation.

Reacting in a manner suggesting that Makinde accused anyone of being responsible for the abduction, Onanuga, according to media reports, questioned the basis for the governor’s demand, arguing that security agencies had no reason to deliberately subject Nigerians, especially children, to prolonged captivity.

Onanuga said it was “unthinkable” that anyone would deliberately conspire to expose the victims to the 56-day ordeal, including the killing of a mathematics teacher during captivity, and accused Makinde, who is a presidential aspirant, of allowing political considerations to influence his call for an international probe.

According to Onanuga, the military and the Department of State Services (DSS) had already disclosed what they knew about the incident, describing the governor’s demand as “unwarranted” and “absolutely unnecessary.”

The Senate also passed a resolution the following day warning that Makinde’s call could undermine the government’s efforts in tackling insecurity.

Condemning the governor’s call, Senator Adams Oshiomhole said the call was not only “unsportsmanlike” but also stretched partisan politics, reiterating the rhetoric that “Nigeria is a sovereign nation,” and adding that a foreign body should not investigate any domestic matter.

It is surprising that a governor, who is recognised by the Nigerian Constitution as the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of his state, called for an independent probe of a major security breach in his state but external forces that are unaffected by the insecurity vehemently opposed him.

However, many have cited several instances of UN involvement in the internal crises in member states by way of deploying troops, conducting an investigation and sending aid workers that provide humanitarian services in conflict areas.

For instance, after the abduction of more than 300 students from the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State, on December 11, 2020, and the series of attacks on schools in Zamfara and Niger states by terrorist groups, UN human rights experts issued a statement on March 11, 2021 condemning the failure of the Nigerian government to conduct an impartial, and independent investigation.

Again, after the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno State on April 14, 2014, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), probed into Nigeria’s handling of incessant abductions of women and girls.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had on March 6, 2025, announced the Committee’s findings.

In its report, the Committee indicted the Nigerian government, accusing it of failing to prevent abductions, and failing to rescue victims, and prosecute perpetrators.

Many Nigerians have thrown their weights behind Makinde, insisting that Nigerians deserve to know the circumstances surrounding the Oriire abduction.

The various probes by the federal government-controlled agencies have failed to provide solutions to these abductions as these investigations only amounted to the government probing itself.

The outcome of an independent and neutral probe of the Oriire incident by the UN can help provide the solutions to the incessant abductions in other parts of the country.

The agents of the Nigerian government should not hide under the cover of the country’s sovereignty to cover up the government’s embarrassing failure to stop abductions or shield the perpetrators of violence against schoolchildren.