Oyo Kidnap: APM questions APC over ‘reported bandit links’

The Allied People’s Movement (APM) has demanded answers from the All Progressives Congress (APC) concerning alleged connections between the ruling party and bandits. APM specifically questioned the APC's strong opposition to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde's request for a United Nations-backed investigation into the abduction of schoolchildren and their teachers.

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Perhaps APC leaders have something to tell Nigerians regarding their party’s reported connection with bandits. This is especially against the backdrop of earlier confession by a former APC leader that the party’s leaders imported terrorist elements from neighboring countries as political mercenaries in the build-up to the 2015 general elections.

APM's National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, stated that the intensity of the backlash from APC leaders against Makinde's call for an international probe shifts attention to why some political figures seem uncomfortable with an independent investigation. Yusuf accused senior APC leaders, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and Senator Adams Oshiomhole, of attacking the governor instead of supporting efforts to uncover the facts surrounding the abduction.

Yusuf suggested that APC leaders might have something to reveal about their party's reported ties to bandits. He referenced past claims by a former APC leader that the party had imported terrorist elements as political mercenaries before the 2015 general elections. APM insisted that seeking international support in combating terrorism is standard practice and does not diminish Nigeria's sovereignty or cast doubt on its institutions.

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Governor Makinde’s demand for international probe on this act of terrorism against Nigerians did not undermine the sovereignty of our nation as claimed by APC leaders; rather, it reinforces our sovereignty in the global arena by strengthening Nigeria’s collaboration with international partners in the fight against terrorism, which is an international crime against humanity.

The party pointed out that Nigeria has frequently sought foreign cooperation in its fight against terrorism. It recalled President Bola Tinubu's appeals for international collaboration, including at the UN General Assembly, and his requests for assistance from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in June 2024. APM argued that if the Federal Government can seek such external help, there is no valid reason to condemn Governor Makinde's call for external scrutiny into the Oyo abduction circumstances. Governor Makinde himself stated that the incident's gravity warrants independent scrutiny beyond domestic institutions.

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The circumstances surrounding this incident are sufficiently grave and unusual to warrant independent scrutiny beyond our domestic institutions.