Sunday Igboho, the Yoruba activist who gave Fulani herdsmen
quit notice in Igangan, ibarapa LGA of Oyo State re-emerged on Sunday to
address another rally in the town.
He was still wearing the same French suit he wore on Friday,
when he first addressed the people, with the video going viral.
This time, he came to report back on his meeting with the
new Police Commissioner in Oyo state and the Area Commander.
(Watch the video in Yoruba:
According to him, he met with the Police Commissioner Ngozi
Onadeko and her deputy and he was not arrested, despite the order of Oyo State
governor, Seyi Makinde.
Igboho said he got assurances from the police on the
security of the area and in turn, he appealed to the people to cooperate with
the Police Area Commander and other policemen.
He said from now on, more policemen will be drafted to the
area to maintain law and order.
He also reported that the commissioner of police will be
visiting the town and other towns to re-assure the people that there will no
longer be kidnapping or killings by Fulani herdsmen.
It appeared however that he was not absolutely right on when
the commissioner will come on a visit, as she visited today, in company of
Fatai Owoseni, the Special Adviser on security to Governor Seyi Makinde.
According to Taiwo Adisa, the Chief Press secretary to
Governor Makinde, the delegation toured the trouble spots of Ibarapa and
Oke-Ogun areas of the state.
They conducted on-the-spot assessment of the tension-soaked
communities of Igangan, Tede and Ago Are communities.
In the entourage were also senior Police officers including
Deputy Commissioners of Police and Mobile Police Commanders.
Ngozi Onadeko sued for peace, while also declaring the
readiness of the Police to embark on a thorough investigation to ensure justice
for victims of kidnapping, armed robbery, rape and other crimes.
Owoseni, a former commissioner of police in Lagos, also
appealed to community leaders, youths and Hausa-Fulani residents to eschew
violence and live in peace.
Owoseni told the people to be vigilant and ensure they
identify the criminal elements among them for prosecution by the Police,
declaring that no one should take laws into his hands.
He also debunked insinuations that Governor Makinde has
abandoned the people to their fate, adding that at least 51 suspected
perpetrators of kidnapping, rape and banditry are currently in police net from
Oke Ogun axis.
He said that government would ensure that justice prevails
in the cases involving the arrested lot, adding, however, that the people must
remain vigilant.
“If you see something, say something,” Owoseni counseled
residents of the visited communities.
The delegation also visited the razed home of the Seriki
Fulani in Igangan, where it assessed the extent of damage and promised thorough
investigation.
Secretary of Igangan Development Advocates, Lawal Akeem, who
spoke in Igangan, said that the people were tired of the antics of the Seriki
Fulani, Alhaji Saliu Abdukadir, whom he accused of complicity in different
cases.
He also said that the community has been forced to pay about
N50 million in ransom for different cases of kidnapping, while also accusing
Fulani herders of regularly vandalising farms and raping women of the
community.
Another youth in the town, Taiwo Adeagbo, said that no fewer
than 15 women have been raped in recent weeks.
A member of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Peter
Ojedokun, also told the delegation that Ibarapaland had been peaceful all the
while but that the peace was affected recently when Fulani herders started
attacking members of the community on their farms, kidnapping persons and
committing crimes.
Two Fulani leaders, the Seriki Fulani of Igbo Ora, Alhaji
Idris Abubakar, and the Seriki Fulani of Eruwa, Alhaji Sule Mohammed, asked for
forgiveness from those offended, adding that they are ready to facilitate a
peaceful coexistence in Ibarapaland.
The Caretaker Chairman of Ibarapa North-West Local Council
Development Area, Hon. Okediji Samuel Olusegun, also corroborated the
allegations leveled against the Seriki Fulani of Igangan, saying that the
Seriki has been fingered in the series of security challenges in the area many
times.
Addressing the gathering of traditional rulers, government
officials and Fulani leaders in Igangan, the Commissioner of Police, Onadeko
said: “We have come to assess and listen to you over the incident that
happened. I want to appeal to everyone of us to be calm and ensure there is
peace. If there is no peace in the community, there won’t be growth and
development.
“I want to appeal to the youth. We have listened and they
have interpreted all your complaints and I want to say you should not spoil
your case by using force. We are a new team. Bring out all the cases you have,
put them in an orderly manner and we will make sure that justice is done.
“So, I want to enjoin
all of you to be peaceful and live with one another in a peaceful manner. If we
live in peace in this community, we should be able to identify kidnappers,
robbers, and rapists. It does not matter where you come from – whether you are from
Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa. Actually, we have the good and bad ones. Criminality is
not only ascribed to a particular ethnic group, it cuts across all the ethnic
groups.
“So, if we don’t come together with one voice, how are we
going to fish out all these people?
“Please, be calm. Cooperate with the Police, law enforcement
agencies and we will make this place secure for everyone, irrespective of where
you come from.
“I want to assure you that all the cases you brought up, a
thorough investigation will be done on them and you will see that justice will
be delivered.
“We will be having more of this interactive session and
consultative gathering so that we will be able to sit down, talk and iron
things out together without resorting to violence, which does not pay.
“Please, don’t take laws into your hands. Just tell us. Let
us have peace and everything, by the grace of God, will be okay for all of us.”
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