Nigerian human rights lawyer and lead counsel for the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has described the beheading of a school teacher at Community High School, Esiele, Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, Mr. Michael Oyedokun, as “the public execution of national conscience.”
According to him, the murder of Mr. Oyedokun was not merely the death of a teacher, but a devastating reflection of the collapse of security, humanity, and governance in Nigeria.
Reacting to the incident, Ejiofor said Nigeria failed Oyedokun, insisting that any nation that abandons its teachers has begun to dig its own grave.
Ejiofor stated that the incident represents a terrifying symbol of how insecurity, governmental inertia, and institutional decay have eroded the moral foundations of the nation.
“Even more disturbing is the frightening possibility that, in the years ahead, some of these same terrorists may eventually be reintegrated into society under rehabilitation programmes, while the memory of the innocent educator they butchered fades into forgotten archives and abandoned headlines.
“His only crime was the noble and honourable decision to be present in school, at the appropriate time, carrying out his statutory responsibility of teaching, mentoring, and shaping the lives of innocent children entrusted to his care.
“That singular act of service to humanity cost him his life.
“What greater tragedy can befall a nation than when its schools become slaughter grounds, its classrooms become theatres of terror, and its educators become bargaining chips in the hands of murderous extremists?
“Every Judge, Lawyer, Doctor, Professor, Engineer, Governor, and President once sat before a teacher. Yet, paradoxically, those upon whose shoulders society rests are treated with shocking contempt, miserable remuneration, and institutional abandonment.
“I profoundly sympathise with the entire community of teachers across Nigeria, the immediate family of Mr. Michael Oyedokun, the traumatised students affected by this horrifying incident, and every innocent soul impacted by this barbaric act of terror,” he said in a statement.
Ejiofor called on the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Oyo State Government, all security agencies, and every institution charged with the preservation of law and order to take immediate and decisive action to ensure that the perpetrators of the atrocity are apprehended and prosecuted without delay.
He insisted that every individual connected to the conspiracy, no matter how highly placed, politically protected, or institutionally shielded, must be identified and brought to justice.
Mr. Michael Oyedokun, a devoted Mathematics teacher at Community High School, Esiele, Oriire LGA of Oyo State, was among teachers and students reportedly abducted by bloodthirsty jihadist terrorists.
He was subsequently beheaded in cold blood.
Beheading of Oyo teacher public execution of national conscience – Rights lawyer, Ejiofor
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