The Oyo State Government has raised the alarm over the recent spate of kidnapping incidents involving indigenes of the state, asking whether the state is being deliberately targeted.
The Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, raised the concern in a statement on Monday following the reported abduction of 18 Oyo State students returning home from Sokoto State over the weekend.
Oyelade said the latest incident was the third unusual kidnapping case involving Oyo residents within four months, describing the development as a source of serious concern to the state government and its citizens.
He asked: “Are we being targeted? Are we under organised siege? Are these uncommon decoys to distract us? Is this a political attack targeting scholarship and conviction?”
The commissioner recalled that on Friday, May 15, students and teachers from Oriire Local Government Area were abducted and spent 56 days in captivity under what he described as harrowing circumstances.
According to him, the experience prompted Governor Seyi Makinde to constitute a Judicial Panel of Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the incident. The panel, headed by Justice (Professor) Mojeed Owoade, was inaugurated on July 31 and submitted its report last week.
Oyelade noted that the decision to establish the panel had initially generated curiosity in some quarters, but said recent developments had made the circumstances surrounding the kidnappings more disturbing.
He said two serial kidnapping attacks had occurred in Oyo State since the submission of the panel’s report, describing the timing as suspicious.
“Is this a coincidence? If it is, it is one too many,” the commissioner said.
He stressed that the people of Oyo State were an integral part of Nigeria and deserved to know who might be attempting to undermine their liberty, access to knowledge, scholarship and political freedom.
The commissioner assured residents that the state government remained concerned about their safety and would continue to work with relevant security agencies to address the emerging security challenge.
