*CoS to the IGP presenting a letter to Aare Adams*
Inspector General of Police(IGP), Mr Muhammed Adamu has sent a delegation to Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland and leader of Odua Peoples Congress (OPC), Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams.
The visit came on the heels of the seven-day ultimatum recently issued by OPC to the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association to fish out criminal elements, among herdsmen, carrying out kidnapping and other crimes in Yorubaland.
The delegation, led Chief of Staff (CoS) to the IGP,Mr. Jude Nwankwo, met Chief Adams at his Omole phase 2 residence, Ikeja, Lagos on Tuesday.
The CoS told the Aare that the reason for the visit “is to seek your support in solving the security challenges in the country”, adding that “We are happy to relate with you as a prominent voice in Yorubaland. We know there is no way we can secure the grassroots without local intelligence. The IGP has indicated interest in seeking your assistance and support and that is why we are here to tell you that the police, as an institution, is ready to partner with you.”
Speaking earlier, Aare Adams charged the Inspector General of Police on the need to be proactive in tackling the various security issues in the country.
He told the delegation that as the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, “there are pressures on me to act on the issues”, stressing however that the OPC “is ready to partner with the police in solving the security challenges in the country.”
“Our group has a history of winning war against kidnapping, banditry and other social vices,” he added.
On the visit by the delegation, he said: “I commend the Inspector General of Police on this move. The visit, as far as I am concerned, is a welcome development and it goes a long way in solving the menace.
“The security situation in the country is becoming too worrisome with cases of Killings, kidnapping, raping and banditry prevalent across South-West states, and there is an urgent need to curb the menace.”
Others present during the visit were Asoju Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, Yinka Oguntimehin, Assistant General Secretary of OPC, Mr. Lasun Ogunfowokan, Chief Superintendent of Police Peter Gana and Mrs Stella Gowon.
At an earlier meeting of the Aare Onakakanfo in Council, Aare Adams had warned that the Yoruba people would be forced to retaliate if Fulani herdsmen continued to maim innocent people in Yorubaland.
According to him, “We cannot continue to fold our arms and let these bandits continue to soil our land with the blood of the innocent.
“Consequently, we hereby ask these Fulani marauders to stop their murderous activities and vacate every inch of Yorubaland they currently ravage.
“Failure to reconcile themselves with these terms may warrant maximum retaliation as the principle dictates that a bully only respects a bully.
“The campaign of blood by Fulani herdsmen, who have been ravaging our land, kidnapping, killing, maiming and raping our people in recent years has become a serious source of concern for the Yoruba race; a race renowned for their staunch passion for peaceful coexistence, national cohesion and development.
“The threat posed to our existence by these blood-mongering marauders cannot be overlooked as we, as a people, believe that for peace and accord to reign among the multiplicity of people who occupy a common territory, all parties must play a role in ensuring that each and every unit in this country respect each other in all ramifications.”
He added that: “A true sons of Oduduwa, we are unequivocally forthright about this threat posed by this group which the federal government has turned a blind eye to by refusing to call a spade by its name, dubbing the Fulani marauders as criminals, bandits, and pillagers. Every true blood of the Yoruba race is at the risk of being haunted and slaughtered by this reckless group if we keep sugarcoating the bloody implications of their evil enterprise.
“We are acquainted with the nature of Fulani nomads in the past, and we know as a matter of fact that they were not carrying AK47s. It is because of this naked truth that we ask that these people be labelled as what they are. We are clamouring that the appropriate moniker should be used to tag them. They should be addressed as ‘Fulani bandits,’ for we believe that there is power in names.
“We strongly advise Obas and local Chiefs to show more than passing interest in the activities of people in their domains. They must know that they cannot be blameless for their failure to account for and monitor strangers in their areas of jurisdictions, particularly those whose activities run contrary to peaceful coexistence.”
“We are no longer comfortable with the continuing brutalization and murderous humiliation of our people. Government’s silence is distressing as it is emboldening the criminals. President Buhari must act now. They need to understand that their seeming stillness about this plague is a tacit alignment with the forces of evil.”
Aare Adams listed dark spots where urgent Federal Government’s intervention were needed to include Orile-Owu to Ijebu-Ode forest, Osun and Ogun States; Ilesha, Ife, Aramoko, Ijero, Esa-Oke, Ikire, Gbogan, Ode-Omu, Ifewara, Ibadan to Ife Road, Ife to Akure Road, Ikesha to Oshogbo, and environs; Osi, Igede, Ilupeju, Ikole, Ado, Ikere, and environs, among others.
In a related development, the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) and the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBN) held a meeting in Osogbo on Tuesday to fashion out ways of ensuring peaceful coexistence and improved security in Osun State.
The meeting was necessitated by the worsening security situation in Osun, where herdsmen have been on the rampage in recent times, abducting and killing people on highways in the South-West state.
Speaking at the meeting, Alhaji Leke Akintayo, the leader of the OPC in Osun State, said the group was worried over the spate of abductions and other criminal activities in the state blamed on herdsmen.
Akintayo said OPC was ready to collaborate with security agencies to tackle the security challenges plaguing Osun in recent times.
He, subsequently, issued a seven-day ultimatum to leaders of MACBAN to fish out bad eggs among them in the interest of peace in the state.
Akintayo, who noted that the goal of the OPC since it was founded in 1998 was to protect lives and property, warned herdsmen perpetrating crimes to vacate the state or be ready to face the wrath of the law.
He said “We called for this peace meeting to find lasting solutions to the issue of security breakdown such as kidnapping, armed robbery and all sort of criminal activities in the state.
“Over the years, Osun State has been adjudged the most peaceful state in Nigeria until recently when criminals invaded our land and started kidnapping our people.
“We will use everything within our reach to ensure that the bad eggs among the Fulanis are flushed out of the state.
“We are law-abiding group. We are working in collaboration with the police, DSS, Civil Defence and other paramilitary groups to make sure we curb the menace of insecurity in our state.
“We want to sound a note of warning to these criminals to desist from terrorising our people.
“There is need for the good among the herdsmen to fish out the bad eggs among them within seven days in the interest of peace.”
The Chairman of the Osun State Branch of MACBAN, Alhaji Abdulahi Alilu, pledged to give maximum support to the OPC and other security agencies to curb insecurity in the state.
Represented by Seriki Soliu, a member of the association, Alilu said that cattle breeders were also victims of kidnapping.
He promised to work closely with the OPC to ensure that criminals were brought to book.
Muhammad Adam, the spokesman of Gan Allah Fulani Development Association of Nigeria also known as Fulani Intelligence Squad, assured that the group would work closely with the OPC to foster security in Osun State.