From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
People of Osun State are now living in fear and apprehension following incessant cases of kidnapping by gunmen in which nothing fewer than 15 persons have been kidnapped from the beginning of this year and some of them are not traceable till now.
A group, The Osun Masterminds (TOM), has raised the alarm over the crime rate, particularly kidnapping, noting that the situation was throwing the state into insecurity and a reign of terror. The group expressed displeasure over the refusal of authorities to heed its earlier warning and calls to forestall recurrence of insecurity in the state.
Executive director of TOM, Prof. Wasiu Oyedokun-Alli, who spoke at the monthly State of the State address in Osogbo, advised Governor Ademola Adeleke to act immediately to restore confidence and restore society to its usual peaceful state.
“We must arrest this situation immediately before the state is plunged into unrest. We again advise the governor to engage all security agencies in the state, including the state-owned Amotekun Corps, and work out new modalities with them that will ensure the security of lives and properties. The perpetrators of armed robbery, killings, and kidnappings that are fast becoming a regular occurrence in Osun, must be brought to book and quickly too,” TOM said.
On January 13, two farmers, Samuel Oladotun and Fashola Tobiloba, were kidnapped by gunmen at Ileogbo town, in Aiyedire Local Government of the state. While the spokesperson of the command, Yemisi Opalola, said that police officers were on the trail of the kidnappers, she, however, disclosed that there was no report from the Gbongan Police Divisional Officer, where the incident was reported, that the kidnappers had made any contact with their victims’ families or demanded ransom.
The victims and seven others were said to be returning from their farms in a bus when their vehicle was ambushed in the Oke Osun area of Ileogbo. Six out of those in the bus reportedly managed to escape, while three of them were captured and taken away by the gunmen. One of the three later escaped while their abductors were moving them into the bush, leaving Oladotun and Tobiloba in their custody.
Shortly after that, three persons, Hamzat Ibrahim, Deere Ibrahim, and a 38-year-old man were kidnapped on January 23 in Iwo, Iwo Local Government Area of the state. They were reportedly kidnapped in their farmland located in the Ologun area of the local government.
Also, on January 25, a teacher, Mrs. Olayinka Kayode, along with her child was reportedly kidnapped by unknown gunmen while returning from school in Osogbo, Osun State capital. The victim was rescued somewhere in Ibadan three days after her abduction.
On March 31, four people were kidnapped around Ayepe, Ikirun-Iragbiji road as the police confirmed saying: “We don’t know the number of people that were kidnapped but the vehicle of the victims that was abandoned has been towed to our station in Ikirun.”
The incident happened some days after the abduction of a bricklayer, Moses Taiwo, in Dagbolu, a community also located along Osogbo/Ikirun expressway.
On April 3, two wives of the head of the Ogboni fraternity, Oba Adetoyese Olakisan, were kidnapped and the man perished in an accident with two others while trailing the kidnappers. The victims were rescued some days after the incident.
A Fulani herder, Mohammed Jubril, 30, was kidnapped on April 13 at the Ago-Igbira, Ila-Orangun area, while a husband and wife reportedly returning from worship center on April 16 along Osogbo/Iragbiji road were Kidnapped by some unknown gunmen.
Reacting to the cases of insecurity, Governor Adeleke condoles with families of the attack, saying that government will track down all criminals and bring them to justice.
The Secretary to the State Government, Teslim Igbalaye, said: “The reports from the field showed that the police and other security agencies have been up and doing in combating crimes. The government is particularly happy that suspects are being arrested and arraigned in courts. This will strengthen the faith of the citizenry in the capacity of the state to protect them.
“It is also pleasing to report that security operatives are hunting down criminals who engage in hit-and-run operations with their base outside Osun State. Our security personnel is hunting such evil men across Ekiti, Oyo, and other adjacent states. We commend the gallantry of the police and other security services in the state.”
When the insecurity persisted, Adeleke on April 18 summoned an emergency meeting of the state security council to review ongoing operations designed to checkmate criminal activities in the state. Ahead of the meeting, the governor ordered regular patrols by a combined team of security personnel to stem the recent upsurge in robberies and kidnappings.
The statement made available by his spokesman, Olawale Rasheed, said: “As much as I commend our security agencies for recent successes, we must now redouble our efforts to stop the activities of men of the underworld. We are to review current operations and launch statewide patrols.
“We must sustain current synergy among the agencies. Hence, the police, the DSS, the Civil Defence, the Amotekun Corps, and others must intensify joint operations. The criminal infiltrators into our dear state and their sponsors must be fished out as the recent upsurge appears to be unusual.
“At the forthcoming security meeting, we will review the nature of the new upsurge and map out a detailed plan to arrest the situation. Drastic action may be necessary and our administration will give all the required support to security agencies to achieve the target of a crime-free Osun state.
“I also plead with residents of the state to be mindful of the timing and manner of their movements. For now, it is advisable to avoid late-night or early-morning traveling. We must secure ourselves as security is everybody’s business.”
Local security who participated in the trailing of the kidnappers recently confided in the Daily Sun that policemen cannot enter the bush where the kidnappers are coming from, saying: “We don’t have the guns like the one the kidnappers are holding.”
The commander of Osun Security Network Agency, also known as Amotekun Corps, Brigadier General Bashir Adewimbi (retd), told our correspondent that his men are in the forest trailing the kidnappers to rescue the victims in the bush.
In the recent operations, he said: “We were in the forest for five days in search of the victims and kidnappers. As a result of our hot chase, the kidnappers decided to release some victims. We are working together with the police to secure the release of those that are still held captive.
“We are taking serious measures to ensure peace in the state. We have our patrol day and night everywhere because of the robbery, kidnapping, and other crime, we are ahead of it and the police are supporting us.”
The Director General, Kiriji Heritage Defenders, Dr Ademola Ekundayo, who led the rescue of Ogboni Agbaye’s wife, said the local hunters must be seriously involved in the operation against the kidnappers because they are the only persons that can enter the bush where they are hiding.
He said: “We’ve been surrounded already. Those kidnappers came from Ekiti. I spoke with the kidnappers. We have to sit down with OC kidnappers and map up strategies so that we can easily tackle the kidnappers.”