Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has commiserated with the people of Ora Igbomina in the Ifedayo Local Government Area of the state over recent banditry attacks, saying his administration has started work to prevent the sad incident from re-occurring.
The Guardian reported that gunmen suspected to be bandits attacked the community on Monday evening, killing a village chief and abducting a former customs officer.
A statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, on Thursday disclosed that Governor Adeleke warned the Nigeria Police Force in the state and the state’s Amotekun Corps against working in silos.
Recall that police officers had arrested and detained the Amotekun Commander in the state, Isaac Omoyele, and 20 operatives over killings in the Akinlalu community of the state in September this year. Ever since, there has been a cold war between the two security agencies in the state.
However, the governor noted that working in silos would no longer be tolerated.
On steps taken so far to address the security breach in the state, the Osun governor assured that a military-backed rescue and protection security operation has been underway for the past three days.
The statement revealed that Adeleke made the remarks while speaking after an emergency security council meeting held on Wednesday evening.
Adeleke described the Ora incident as saddening and a major security breach, even after almost all the watertight pre-emptive precautions had already been put in place over the last three months.
Reviewing the development with service commanders from the police, the army, the secret service and other paramilitary agencies, Governor Adeleke expressed confidence that the ongoing military-backed security operations across the border towns would prevent a recurrence of the attacks and secure the release of the kidnapped retired customs officer.
“From the moment of the unfortunate incident, our security forces have launched rescue and protection operations. For the past three days, the police, the army and the DSS have been combing the areas for rescue and reviewing the security apparatus. A delicate operation is ongoing, and we don’t want to jeopardise the integrity of the process.
“As part of our security plan, we will soon deploy the refurbished armoured tanks for operations across the state. We are also procuring patrol vehicles to strengthen police and security operations in the state. Additionally, we are reviewing the joint security patrol programme. It will be unveiled at the right time to further protect our people,” the governor noted.
To forestall any further security breach and possible spill-over from Kwara State, Governor Adeleke has issued new operational guidelines for the Amotekun security service, directing the Amotekun leadership to ensure proper coordination with the police in their operations.
The governor directed that an operational meeting be held between the police authorities and the Amotekun service to ensure proper coordination in future operations, warning that working in silos will no longer be tolerated.
According to the governor, Amotekun services should always involve the police in their operations to ensure synergy and service support, expressing happiness that Amotekun will soon get back to the field under the new arrangement.
The governor, who lamented the unfortunate Akinlalu incident, said the Amotekun service has learnt lessons even as the law takes its course, affirming that the Amotekun service is needed more than ever in view of new security challenges facing the state.
“After the security council meeting, I am happy to announce that the Amotekun service will resume full operations under the new guidelines I just issued. We are facing an emergency in our border towns, and it is important to get the Amotekun back to the field as urgently as possible.
“I must, however, plead with members of the public to reduce late-night activities. In addition to the banditry challenge, we are in the yuletide period when our people need to be security-conscious. Criminals are targeting late-night gatherings. We need to stick to daytime events to further protect ourselves.
“I once again commiserate with victims of recent banditry attacks. We are working tirelessly to prevent a recurrence,” the governor was quoted as saying in the statement.
