OPC commends Buhari over release of Kaduna train attack victims

• Group condemns rising attacks, kidnappings in Oke-Ogun
• Lauds security agencies for swiftness

The Yoruba militia group, Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), yesterday, commended President Muhammadu Buhari over the release of all the passengers kidnapped in the Kaduna train attack after eight months in captivity.

The group, however, urged the Federal Government to grant governors power to acquire superior assault weapons that would enable them counter terrorists, bandits and unknown gunmen currently unleashing death and terror across the country.

In statement, President of the late Dr. Fredrick Fasehun’s OPC faction, Otunba Wasiu Afolabi, said there was urgent need for the Federal Government to expedite action to free other abductees still in captivity anywhere in the country.

Besides, it implored Buhari to revisit and implement the resolutions of the National Conference of 2014 before handing over power next year.

MEANWHILE, the National President of Oke-Ogun Development Consultative Forum (ODCF), Alhaji Ahmed Raji (SAN), yesterday, condemned the rising cases of kidnapping in the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State.

Raji, therefore, urged the federal and state governments to find a lasting solution to the problem. In a statement signed by the ODCF President and made available to journalists, Raji said the kidnap of farmers in their farmlands was an indication that apart from seeking to collect ransom, the perpetrators aimed at crippling the source of food for the common people.

It would be recalled that four farmhands that include the manager of a poultry farm and his girlfriend were abducted on Saturday afternoon at the Oyo State Farm settlement along Iseyin-Ipapo-Saki Road in Iseyin Local Council.

Raji, while lauding the prompt response of the security agencies to the incident, urged the leadership of the police and the military to increase the presence of their men in the Oke-Ogun zone to discourage criminalities.

He also urged religious leaders to intensify prayers towards ridding Nigeria, Oyo State and Oke-Ogun region of unpalatable occurrences, saying that only prayers and concerted efforts by all will make peace sustainable.