The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has lamented the upsurge in terror attacks in parts of Yorubaland and in other parts of Nigeria.
This was contained in a statement issued yesterday by the organisation’s National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, and made available to journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Ajayi referenced the latest security breaches in the country. He lamented the latest killing of some Forest Guards at Old Oyo National Park in Oloka, Oriire LGA, and of four farmers in Igboho, Oorelope LGA, both in Oyo State, abduction of a nursing mother and her child in Supare/Ajegunle in Akoko-South LGA of Ondo State, the apprehension of some bandits in Ondo who were alleged to have fled Sokoto in the wake of America’s bombardment of their hideout in that place and the burning down of a police station in Ipele, also in Ondo State.
The Afenifere spokesman challenged South-West governors to “put life to the resolution they made when they met in Ibadan on November 24, last year, on the security of the region. They had resolved to, among others, set up South West Security Fund (SWSF) that will institute a ‘Joint Security Intelligence Sharing and Communication Platform’ for the purpose of exchanging threat notifications, incident logs, traveller and cargo alerts and coordinate state-to-state rapid response.
The governors were urged to quickly actualise this arrangement and jointly acquire the necessary thingamajigs to secure the region. Kwara and Kogi states, including Edo and Delta states, can be brought into the loop in view of the insecurity linkage with these states”.
Ajayi added that, in view of the need to amend the Constitution to establish State Police, a Presidential Order could be issued to populate various levels of the existing police structure at state and community levels with indigenes or inhabitants of the given area. This could be done pending the time when the necessary constitutional amendments are effected.
“This should not be difficult to achieve in view of the recent agreement between the governors and the President on the need to have State Police”, he added.
