- The Abiola Ajimobi-led Oyo state Government has constituted a task force to look into kidnappings and clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the state
- The government assured residents that it would continue to provide adequate measures to ensure that lives and properties are secured
- It pointed out that the security situation in the state is not as bad as being portrayed by some mischievous individuals, and noted that Oyo is known for peace and security
A task force has been set up by the Oyo state Government to look into the increasing cases of kidnapping and clashes between herdsmen and farmers at Oke-Ogun area and other parts of the state, Premium Times reports.
The development was made public by the commissioner for information, culture and tourism, Toye Arulogun, during a live radio programmed in Ibadan, the state capital, on Wednesday, April 4.
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NAIJ.com gathers that the commissioner disclosed that the task force was set up by the state governor, Abiola Ajimobi, following the various meetings held with herdsmen, farmers, security agencies, traditional rulers, others.
Arulogun stated that the task force had already began working, and had paid a visit to the Oke-Ogun area to find out the situation of things.
He said some suspected kidnappers had been arrested following the government’s directive to security agencies to beef up security around the state and improve on their intelligence gathering.
The commissioner assured residents that the Ajimobi-led government would continue to provide adequate measures to ensure that lives and properties were secured, as he pointed out that tensions had been doused in the area as a result of the increase in surveillance by the security agencies.
He added: “The security situation in the state is not as bad as being portrayed by some mischievous individuals.
“The breach was more from external than internal persons. Our administration is known for peace, safety and security. This is evident in the 4-Star rating as a well qualified state to help foreign and domestic investors given by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC).
“Also, the state was adjudged as the 4th best investment friendly state and one of the only five states that attracted investment to the country in the last quarter of 2017 by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
“It is based on the peaceful and secured environment that new businesses are springing up with a renaissance of the night economy in the state, and government is getting a lot of investment requests.
“We cannot allow anything to disrupt the peace in the state and that is the reason the governor setup a taskforce to address the issue of Oke Ogun in addition to the existing security apparatus.”
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that the Oyo state governor, Abiola Ajimobi, ordered the arrest and prosecution of armed herdsmen as well as herders destroying people's farm by grazing on it.
The governor's order came after nine people, including a police officer were killed in a clash between herdsmen and farmers in the state.
Ajimobi gave the orders at a stakeholders meeting attended by the representatives of farmers, Fulani herdsmen, security agencies and other stakeholders, at the House of Chiefs, Secretariat, Ibadan.
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Source: Naija.ng