Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Ogun State government says it will not allow any part of the state to be taken over by terrorists, killer herdsmen, kidnappers or bandits as a safe haven to unleash mayhem on the people.
The government adds it is already collaborating with neighbouring states such as Oyo and Lagos to comb its forests and smoke out those who are harbingers of destruction.
The Commander and Chairman of Amotekun Corps in the state, Dave Akinremi, who stated this while speaking to newsmen on Friday in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, said provision of adequate security has been a cardinal and focal point of Governor Dapo Abiodun since assuming office.
It would be recalled that the state has witnessed an upsurge in criminal activities, with suspected Fulani herdsmen unleashing mayhem on motorists on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
In the same vein, eight villages in the Imeko-Afon Local Government Area of the state was also recently attacked by murderous herders as well as the violent exchange between herdsmen and some Ohori farmers at Idofa village, which left five persons dead, and property worth millions of naira destroyed.
But Akinremi declared the readiness of his men to counter the menace, especially the resurgence in cases on kidnappings on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, saying Amotekun personnel in Ogun and Oyo states are now combing the forests to dislodge the terrorists.
The move, according to him, has been yielding positive results.
Akinremi noted that it will be preposterous to suggest that Governor Abiodun or any other governor in the southwest has been playing politics with the lives of the people.
He said that the incumbent administration is not unaware of its constitutional responsibility to secure lives and property of her citizens and is doing so in many areas.
Amotekun Commander disclosed that the state government has concluded arrangements to fortify all the 20 local government areas of the state with Amotekun operatives.
“This will be complemented by some operatives, who recently concluded their training and are waiting to be mobilized.
“We have been collaborating with the Army, Police, Department of State Services (DSS), Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) among others to rid the state of criminals.
“The inter agency cooperation has led to the arrest of over 50 cultists and other hoodlums in Sagamu and other areas in Ogun East.
“The security situation in Ogun State is a peculiar one; the state shares border with the nation’s commercial capital, with international borders that are porous and easily accessible by criminals.
“There are also threats by armed herders from the North, and by local outlaws”. Akinremi stated.
He, however, assured that the state will rout the criminals with superior fire power and added that government has spent so much to upgrade the security architecture of the state, submitting “Ogun will continue to remain the most peaceful state in the country”.