Makinde Rules Out Negotiations with Terrorists

GOVERNOR Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, yesterday, declared that the state “is not Chibok and will never be Chibok”, vowing that the pupils and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area will be rescued safely.

Speaking the protesters at his Ikolaba private residence, Governor Makinde struck an emotional tone, His words: “Let me make it very, very clear, Oyo State is not Chibok, and we will not be Chibok. We have lost men, even soldiers and officers, and I can confirm to you that a lieutenant in the Nigerian Army was killed a few days ago.

“If you ask me, can I sacrifice myself for those children to come out? I will do it. I have lived a good life, I’m almost 60 and it doesn’t matter. Our children will never be in the same situation as the Chibok children.

While accepting responsibility as governor, he explained the constitutional limitations facing state governments in security matters.

“I will tell the truth and nothing but the truth. If I am not in government, I will be you; I’ll be protesting with you.

“I will not shift blame. Our reality is that the state government is not in charge of all the security agencies.
“As governor, I can call the Commissioner of Police and we can meet, but I cannot deploy him. If I say go to a particular place, he will need approval from the Inspector-General of Police. The same thing applies to the military.”

“I cannot divulge a lot of information because of the nature of the security operation involved, but I can tell you that there is no information that any of those children or their teachers have died.

Gov.Makinde and VDM Protesters Video

Reassuring residents that the government remained actively engaged in efforts to secure the release of the victims, he said: “I give you the assurance that I, as the Governor of Oyo State, will bring out those our children. They are talking to us. It is not something that we normally do. If the government starts negotiating with bandits, it means we are surrendering sovereignty to the bandits, but in this special situation, if we want those children alive, we have to bend backwards.

“This is the first time anywhere in Nigeria that people have kidnapped nursery and primary school children. These are children who cannot even run or do anything for themselves. So the operation to rescue them is a special type of operation if we do not want to lose any of those children.”

“Once the children are out, I give you the assurance that it will not occur again in Oyo State.”