By Imoleayo Oyedeyi

Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo, has appointed Mojeed Owoade, a retired justice of the court of appeal, and Ngozi Onadeko, a former assistant inspector-general of police (AIG), to the eight-man judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the abduction of students and teachers in Oriire LGA of the state on May 15.

Makinde inaugurated the commission on Friday at the executive council chamber of the governor’s office in Ibadan, the state capital, naming Owoade as its chairman.

Other members of the commission are Jibril Ibrahim, Ayo Obẹ, Abimbola Orogade, Sanusi Muazu, and Folorunsho Osunrayi. Olamide Sandra Tella will serve as secretary.

The governor mandated the panel to establish the facts surrounding the abduction, identify any institutional or operational lapses, and recommend measures to strengthen the protection of schools and communities to prevent a recurrence.

“I called you out on a national assignment, and none of the eight of you hesitated for once to accept to participate in this important call to duty. God bless you,” he said.

Makinde, however, noted that “the decision to set up an independent panel was not to undermine security agencies but to ensure every lesson is learnt, every question is answered and to establish facts surrounding the incident.”

Owoade, who served as a judge of the Oyo high court, retired from the court of appeal, Ibadan division, in October 2022.

He served in the court of appeal divisions in Ilorin, Calabar and Kaduna before his retirement.

Similarly, Onadeko, a pioneer graduate of the Nigerian Police Academy, retired as AIG in 2023 after 35 years of service.

In January 2021, she was appointed as the first female commissioner of police in Oyo, having previously served as deputy commissioner of police (DCP) in Delta state.

BACKGROUND

On May 15, gunmen attacked Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School, Esiele; and LA Primary School in Ogbomoso, all in Oriire LGA.

At least 45 schoolchildren and teachers were reportedly kidnapped during the incident.

The Oyo police command said two people were killed during the attacks on the schools.

The incident prompted the Oyo state government to shut schools in four LGAs as security agencies intensified rescue efforts.

On July 10, the presidency announced that the abducted schoolchildren and the teachers had regained their freedom.

However, Makinde called on the United Nations (UN) and international human rights organisations to investigate the abduction incident.

The governor insisted that the circumstances surrounding the incident “are sufficiently grave and unusual to warrant independent scrutiny beyond our domestic institutions”.

Source: TheCable