Akeredolu allays fears over soldiers’ withdrawal from checkpoints in Ondo

Cleric condemns kidnappings, urges Fed Govt to tackle insecurity
Six days after the 32 Artillery Brigade, Akure, dismantled all checkpoints in Ondo State, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has assured the residents of the state that there is no cause for alarm.

Akeredolu said that contrary to fears from some quarters that the action of the army would jeopardise the security architecture of the state, security of life and property could only get better.

He spoke at the Cocoa Conference Hall of the Governor’s Office while playing host to the participants of Course 30 of the National Defence College (NDC), Abuja, led by the Commandant, Rear Admiral Oladele Daji.

Also, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Security Matters, Alhaji Jimoh Dojumo, spoke with The Guardian on the dismantling of army checkpoints and state of security across the state.

Dojumo noted that other security personnel, including the State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun Corps, had been deployed to the various checkpoints to beef up security of life and property.

He listed the other security agencies to include the police, Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other conventional security outfits.

According to him, they are saddled with the statutory responsibilities of providing internal security for the people.

Dojumo, who dispelled the allegation that the state government refused to pay allowances to the soldiers, said all the security agencies in the state, including the army, had been receiving financial and moral support from the governor.

Akeredolu declared that the Amotekun Corps were effectively filling the vacuum created by the over-stretched conventional security agencies, particularly the police. He noted that Amotekun was a product of circumstance created to fill the obvious security gap in the state for the security of all. He stressed that the corps’ efforts with the help of other security agencies have brought relative peace to the state.

RELATEDLY, Bishop of Remo, Methodist Church Nigeria and Chairman, Governing Council, Methodist Theological Institute, Rt. Rev. Jacob Ibikunle, has condemned the kidnappings and other crimes bedeviling the nation.

He urged the government to do more on security of life and property in the country with a view to giving Nigerians rest of mind.

Ibikunle gave the charge during a media parley in Sagamu on the 70th anniversary of the institute with the grand finale coming up tomorrow, November 10, 2021.

The cleric, who described himself as a victim of kidnapping, said the experience was very unpalatable.

He, therefore, urged every Nigerian to shun tribalism, nepotism and fight insecurity.