.....As
herdsmen sack villages in Oke-Ogun area, kill 13 people
A renown human rights activist and
Executive Chairman, Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice(CHRSJ),Comrade
Adeniyi,Alimi Sulaiman has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and Oyo State
governor, Mr. Abiola Ajumobi to stop the ongoing mindless killing of farmers
and
innocent people in the Oke-Ogun area
of Oyo-State, just as he disclosed that no fewer than 13 innocent Nigerians
including farmers,security personnel,traders and hunters have been killed by
the herdsmen in the area in the last few weeks.
He strongly condemned the nonchalant
attitude of the Federal and State Governments on the reoccurring security
challenges facing the people of the area since December, 2017 which escalated
recently that lead to the killing,maiming and kidnapping of innocent Nigerians
in the area.
Comrade Sulaiman who disclosed this
in a signed Press statement which copies were made available to newsmen on
Tuesday, stated that the herdsmen have sacked thousands of villagers from their
villages in Irepo,Orelope and Olorunsogo and other local government areas of
the
state in the last few days,urging the
both Centre and State governments to take urgent action to nip the security
challenges of the area in the bud before it goes out of hand to replicate the
Adamawa,Borno and Yobe States
security saga.
He added that investigation to the
area at the weekend revealed that the villages including; Ojo-Aro,Pakoko,
Alaje, Oopa,Gaa Tahiru,Teesi,Apata and host of other villages in the area have
been taken over by the herdsmen and this development had turned the villagers
to the displaced persons in the area.
Sulaiman who doubles as
Convener,Save Lagos Group(SLG) urged the newly decorated Aare Onakakanfo of
Yorbaland and Coordinator,Odua Peoples Congress(OPC),Otunba Gani Adams not to
take the issue of security threat of the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State with
levity hands as live of innocent Nigerians are now brutish and shortish,adding
that the Yoruba Generalissimo(Adams) needs to visit the area in order to
ascertain the numbers of causalities in terms of loose of lives,injured persons
and property,being recorded since January 2018 till today.
The rights activist then implored
the authorities concerned to deploy the team of security personnel comprises of
men of Nigeria Army,Mobile Police Force,Air force,DSS,Police and Civil Defence
to beef up security around the area so as to forestall re-occurrence.
Speaking further on the development,
Sulaiman maintained that his organizations would not hesitate to launch a
nationwide mass rally tagged:"Operation Stop mindless Killing in
Nigeria" which would be held across the State capitals of the Federation
and Federal Capital Territory(FCT),Abuja,adding that information at his
disposal revealed that the herdsmen have turned the old "Game Reserved and
Tick Forest Trees" in the area into their hide out to perpetuate their
evil agenda and merciless attacks.
According to him, "A stitch in
time saves nine.This is high time for the government concerned to take the bull
by the horn by taking the security challenges of the area with the high sense
of responsibility because People of the area are now living in fear. There are
recorded cases of killing,maiming and kidnapping of innocent citizens of the area
in the last few weeks"
He insisted that the mind boggling
killings by herdsmen extended to the other part of the country due to the
incompetence of President Muhammadu Buhari led APC government at the centre
,advising Governor Ajumobi as Chief Security Officer(CSO) of the State,to
deploy all the
necessary security apparatus to this
area so as to forestall Benue State saga in the State.
Sulaiman therefore, called on the
local and international humanitarian organizations in the country to come to
the aid of the newly Internally Displaced Persons(IDP) in the area,saying this
would go in long way to ameliorate their present predicament as a result of herdsmen
attacks on their livelihood.
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