Terrorists’ Invasion Of Yorubaland: Afenifere Again Challenges S’West Governors To Be Proactive…. Commends Tinubu On State Police

The pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere, has decried the invasion of the South Western Nigeria by terrorists in recent times.

It then challenged governments and security agencies to do more in rescuing the area from bandits.

A press release by Afenifere National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, predicated Yoruba people’s concern on the near daily occurrences of the devaluation of human life in some states in the region going by the barbaric manner in which lives of kidnapped victims are being wasted and how abductees were being mercilessly beaten and degraded.

Among the cases cited were that of Ondo state where churches, police station, individual homes and highways are being attacked, Kwara, where communities were sacked, Oke ogun, Oyo State where farmers are killed and travelers attacked on Igbeti-Kisi road, Ekiti State where kidnappers not only killed their victims but went ahead to make ridiculous demands before they could release the corpse of their victim to her people.

“The greatest demonstration of the heartlessness of these evil-doers was their demands of ₦1.5 million, Indian hemp, cocaine, a synthetic drug known as ICE and cartons of canned beer for the release of a corpse in their captivity. The kidnappers even hilariously asked for virgins to be brought in exchange for four men that they earlier abducted as part of the ransom!

“Up till the recent past, the home environment used to be considered as ‘safe haven’. Unfortunately, the situation is no longer so. A couple was attacked right in front of their home in Akure, Ondo State with the husband shot while trying to prevent his wife from being abducted, Elder Igwe, father of former Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, was abducted on his way to church on Sunday, March 1, a family in Erinmope-Ekiti was attacked with five members whisked away at 7 pm when people were in the mosque for the evening prayer just as bandits reportedly went from house to house in Kubwa, Abuja on Tuesday this week, robbing and abducting people. In a similar manner, routine attacks lasting hours continually occur in Kwara, Plateau, Benue, Borno, Kebbi, Nassarawa, Niger, Katsina and Kaduna. Returning refugees from Cameroun were also attacked in Bauchi State. The list is long.”

Afenifere spokesman recalled the saga of one of the kidnappers of a medical doctor and his brother in Benin, Edo State. He and his gang had killed the younger brother of the doctor and released the doctor after collecting ransom. The daughter of one of the kidnappers fell ill. He and a partner took the girl to hospital where and when the abducted but released doctor was on duty. The doctor recognized his abductors and got the police to arrest them.

“The point here is that the bandit values the life of his daughter (by seeking health for her when she fell ill) but saw nothing wrong in killing other people.”

Ajayi who said that instances of terror acts and kidnapping are numerous was emphatic that the problem is not insurmountable as bandits are not spirits or invisible. Nor invincible! He submitted that one of the ways to tackle the challenge should be blocking the sources of funding for these bandits.

The sources including some unscrupulous wealthy individuals, organizations (local and international), some state actors as well as communities paying protection money (sometimes known as ‘protection levies’ or ‘harvest fees’) ransoms being collected from captives and from outright stealing.

The government should also look in the direction of foreign interests engaged in illegal mining without the intention of following normal procedures as possible masterminds of the outright sacking of communities.

“Confessions of some of them that had been apprehended and tried revealed that they had sponsors. As such, what needed to be done include going decisively after the sponsors of the bandits and their middlemen, blocking the sources of their funding and weapons, raiding the bushes in which they harbour, effectively block corruption and sabotage in the forces, empowering and motivating security personnel as well as the immediate take-off of state police.

In this respect, Afenifere lauds President Ahmed Bola Tinubu for being resolute in getting state police off the ground, going by, among others, his call on the National Assembly to expedite action in amending the relevant sections of the Constitution to enable state police take-off immediately. The new IGP, Mr. Tunji Disu, was also lauded for his commitment as seen in his inauguration of a committee to work on the modality for state police.

Afenifere reiterated its call on governments of the South West to immediately put in place mechanisms to raid bushes where these bandits are hiding, maintain regular surveillance of the bushes and co-operate with the federal government to ensure the prompt take-off of state police in their respective states.