Political scholar Jibril Ibrahim commends Oyo’s inquiry into school abduction, backs Makinde’s presidential bid

Professor of political science and Senior Fellow at the Centre for Democracy and Development, Jibrin Ibrahim, has described the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the Oyo State Government to investigate the abduction of students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area as an imperative initiative.

Professor Ibrahim, who is a member of the commission, said the inquiry had provided an opportunity to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the incident and examine what could be done by governments, security agencies and communities to address the growing threat of abductions across the country.

Speaking in a one-on-one interview with the Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, Ibrahim said the commission’s findings showed that insecurity had become a national crisis, noting that attacks on educational institutions had spread from the North-East to the North-West, North-Central and now the South-West.

“I think it was an excellent idea for governor Seyi Makinde to establish this Judicial Commission of Inquiry,” Ibrahim said, recalling the series of attacks on educational institutions since the Chibok abduction of 2014.

According to him, the Oriire incident demonstrated that the challenge of terrorism and banditry was no longer confined to any particular part of the country.

He said the commission had uncovered important lessons about the trajectory of insecurity in Nigeria, including the ability of terrorists and bandits to operate in forests and difficult terrains and still thrive for so long.

“Terrorism has become extremely capable and has a lot of capacity and capability in terms of carrying out its nefarious activities, and what we learned in what happened in Oyo State is that they’ve been able to achieve mastery of the forests, even in faraway Old Oyo National Park.”

Professor Ibrahim said the development should serve as a source of concern for the entire country, stressing that the challenge required a coordinated response involving federal, state and local governments as well as communities.

He explained that the commission did not limit its approach to examining what security agencies could do, but also considered the roles of state, local governments, communities, hunters and vigilante groups with knowledge of local terrain.

The professor commended the composition of the commission, describing it as balanced and made up of members with strong professional expertise on the issue on hand.

Professor Ibrahim disclosed that the commission interviewed as many as 72 witnesses during its investigation, describing the process as fascinating and insightful.

He also noted that some federal agencies, including the Department of State Services and the Office of the National Security Adviser, did not participate in the proceedings despite invitations.

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“At the level of Oyo State, we had access to everybody and they all turned up to speak to us, and I think we learned a lot by listening to as many as 72 witnesses,” he said.

On the ongoing presidential campaign Professor Ibrahim said, “I don’t really think President Tinubu is president representing the Yoruba ethnic group. He is there as an individual who joined a political party and asked Nigerians to vote for him, and they voted, and he’s exercising that power.” According to the well-known political analyst, the emergence of Governor Makinde as a presidential candidate is a big boost for democracy especially coming from a proven trajectory of performance as a two-term governor.

He added that the emergence of another politician from the same ethnic group, but belonging to another political party, should not by itself be considered a problem.

“The question that arises then becomes a tactical one. At what point in time do the different plural opposition candidates coalesce behind one of them to get a better chance of replacing the incumbent?” he asked.

He also expressed optimism that an opposition consensus could still emerge before the 2027 elections, citing a recent communique by the G100 group, which he said had proposed an approach towards achieving consensus ahead of the polls.

Professor Ibrahim said such an arrangement could enhance the opposition’s chances of producing the next president, while stressing the importance of ensuring that the 2027 elections were free and fair.