Various criminal activities of kidnapping, bombing and
assault on the people in some parts of the country must be aptly addressed as
terrorism, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has said.
He said they are not acts of banditry.
Akeredolu said the infiltration of the country’s borders and
the recent disruption of train services must be addressed as terrorism and the
perpetrators treated as same.
The governor spoke on Monday at the 27th Nigerian Economic
Summit in Abuja with the theme: “Securing Our Future: The Fierce Urgency of
Now.”
Akeredolu and his Kaduna State counterpart, Malam Nasir
El-Rufai, and others were among the panelists at the summit which centred on
addressing the country’s security challenges.
He contended that a nation with failed security and justice
systems is set to fail.
While expressing concern that the dimension of insecurity in
the country recently had been surprising, Akeredolu said he had always believed
in multi-level policing as the best way of securing the country.
“In Ondo State, we don’t have terrorism. Our problem is
farmers and herders clashes and kidnapping for ransom. We have drug abuse and
agitation for self determination.
“We have always preached the multi-level policing in Ondo
State. We believe in layers of security,” he said.
The governor, who explained that though there were criminal
trespasses which could be treated by the state, alleged that before the
Amotekun corps was established, the police were not always ready to make
arrest.
“Yes, you have criminal trespass. It should be treated by
the state. All we had before Amotekun was a police that had the duty to arrest
and was not prepared to make an arrest.
“Things are changing and have really changed in Ondo state.
Today, if you trespass on other people’s land, the Amotekun will go after you
and arrest you.
“They pay compensations to the farmers and when they fail
they are in court. It is the only way you can send signals to the people.
“When you commit a crime and the hands of law doesn’t catch
up with you, another person will repeat it,” he said.
On open grazing, Akeredolu said nomadic pastoralist was a
culture that must be discouraged in the interest of those involved.
He noted that the issue of grazing routes was not a welcome
conversation, adding that those were issues of the past that must not be
brought back to the fore.
“Speaking for those of us who have put in place anti-open
grazing law. We have our reasons and we have no apologies,” he said.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com