Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has said the rescue of the schoolchildren and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area cannot, on its own, be regarded as a complete measure of success, insisting that government must establish what allowed the attack to happen, what could have shortened the victims’ ordeal and what must change to make schools safer.
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Makinde spoke on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, while receiving the report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the Oriire abduction, promising that his administration would study the recommendations, make its response public and assign responsibility for implementing necessary reforms.
The Governor recalled that 46 pupils and teachers were abducted from three schools in Oriire on May 15, 2026, with two teachers losing their lives. Forty-four of those abducted eventually returned after spending 56 days in captivity.
Addressing the families of the victims, Makinde said the eventual return of those rescued could not erase the deaths, the suffering endured in captivity or the continuing trauma experienced by their relatives.
“May this type of affliction never arise again,” he said.
“Forty-six people were taken from three schools on 15 May 2026. Two teachers lost their lives. Forty-four people eventually returned after 56 days in captivity.
“Yes, the return brought relief, but it cannot erase those deaths, the suffering those taken away endured or the fear that families continue to go through.”
Makinde said the responsibility of government went beyond expressions of sympathy.
“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.”
The Governor said the Judicial Commission was established specifically to investigate how the attack occurred, what intelligence or other information was available before it happened, how relevant institutions responded and whether intelligence, administrative or operational failures contributed to the incident.
The panel, chaired by retired Justice Majeed Owoade, visited the affected communities and schools and heard evidence from 72 witnesses, including victims, traditional rulers, civil society organisations, experts and other stakeholders.
Makinde thanked the chairman and members for undertaking what he described as a difficult assignment.
“I have just received your report. We will examine its recommendations carefully, respond to them publicly and set out the actions we will take,” he said.
“Where the report raises matters for federal security agencies or other authorities, we will engage them directly.”
The Governor also addressed the balance between necessary security confidentiality and public accountability.
“We will protect information that could endanger people or prejudice active proceedings, but confidentiality must not become an excuse for avoiding accountability,” he said.
Makinde acknowledged that the abduction had exposed weaknesses in the security arrangements his administration had developed in Oyo State.
“The Oriire attack tested the security system we have worked to build in Oyo State,” he said.
He recalled that when his administration came into office, the 615 emergency toll-free number had been approved but was not operational, while the City Watch and Security Control Room infrastructure had been initiated but parts were not functioning as required.
According to him, his administration operationalised the 615 emergency line, refurbished and expanded the control room and extended its coverage.
He said the state also established communication links among the police, Amotekun, Operation Burst and other relevant services to facilitate coordinated responses to security incidents.
Makinde further said his administration had over the years supplied operational vehicles equipped with communications facilities and expanded the state’s security architecture.
But he insisted that whatever progress had been recorded before the kidnapping could not be deployed as an excuse for the failure to prevent the Oriire attack.
“Those are part of the record. Oriire is also part of the record,” Makinde said.
“No responsible government can point to earlier progress and ask families to overlook a grave failure of protection.”
He acknowledged the efforts that led to the return of the victims and commended personnel at the operational coordination centre at the Oyo State Police Command Headquarters as well as Amotekun operatives, hunters, local vigilantes, the military, police, intelligence agencies and other federal security institutions involved in the rescue operation.
However, he argued that retrieving abducted victims after an attack could not be the sole standard by which the effectiveness of a security system was assessed.
“Rescue cannot be the only measure of success,” Makinde said.
“We must ask what could have prevented the attack, what could have shortened the ordeal and what will make children safer in their schools.”
The Governor linked the lessons from the incident to his broader call for what he described as a “Security Reset for Nigeria.”
He argued that functional security structures should make it possible to identify exactly where a system failed and hold the appropriate institutions responsible.
“The reason we could ask 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.
“Nigeria, too, must have a working system.”
Makinde said the Commission’s recommendations would not merely be received and shelved, promising that they would lead to decisions, clearly assigned responsibilities and measurable progress that the public would be able to follow.
“So, this Commission’s report will lead to decisions, assigned responsibilities and progress that the public can follow,” he said.
“Our children’s safety must be the test of what changes.”
The Governor asked residents of Oyo State and Nigerians generally to assess his administration not merely on the abduction itself or on the earlier security investments made by the state, but on the complete record of what happened and how the government responds to the Commission’s findings.
“To the people of Oyo State, and to Nigerians following this process, I make this request: examine the evidence,” he said.
“Examine what we built before Oriire, what happened when the attack came, what this Commission has found, and what we do in response. Judge us by that full record—and hold us to the changes we promise.”
The Commission itself said its recommendations were directed at strengthening preventive security, intelligence gathering and cooperation among different levels of government and security institutions. Justice Owoade also identified the management of forest reserves, particularly the Old Oyo National Park, as one area requiring attention.
Makinde concluded his remarks by drawing attention to another group of abducted schoolchildren in Borno State.
He called for intensified efforts to rescue more than 40 children abducted in Borno State on the same day as the Oriire attack, saying they had remained in captivity for 137 days as of September 29.
“Let me end my remarks by calling for intensified efforts to rescue the over 40 children kidnapped in Borno State on the same day as the Oriire abduction, who remain in captivity 137 days later,” he said.
“No Nigerian child should have to fear for their lives because they are trying to get educated.”
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