Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has made known his administration’s plans to stop the killing and kidnapping by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Ibarapa area of the state.
Makinde’s action followed a meeting held with representatives of Igangan, Ibarapa land on Sunday.
The meeting was attended by security stakeholders, among whom was the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Ngozi Onadeko.
The meeting was as a result of the attack on Fulani settlement in Igangan after Sunday Igboho visited the area on Friday, being the deadline for his quit notice to the herdsmen, whom he accused of killing, kidnapping and raping indigenes of the area.
In a statement on Wednesday, Makinde said his government had come up with a security strategy for that zone.
The governor said he would redeploy 200 members of the Oyo State Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Amotekun to kidnapping/banditry hotspots in the Ibarapa and Oke-Ogun zones.
He added that continuous dialogue will be maintained with members of the community by holding town hall meetings and bringing together residents and security agencies to talk about resolving issues through dialogue and effective community policing.
Makinde said there will be documentation of foreigners, especially those who are working in mines, saying this will ensure that only those with legitimate interests remain in Oyo.
It was confirmed by the governor that the Oyo State Open Rearing and Grazing Regulation Law, 2019 will now be enforced by the Amotekun Corps, in collaboration with ‘Operation Burst’ and local vigilante groups.
Meanwhile, Gov Makinde has promised to compensate families of farmers, who have been killed and/or lost their livelihoods to criminal trespass and damage by pastoralists.
The compensation, he said, would be paid to families of victims or victims who can prove their claims, adding that all suspects arrested for criminal activities in Ibarapa and the Oke-Ogun zones, in connection with the ongoing tensions in the area will be prosecuted.
However, the Oyo State helmsman has refused to comment on the fire incident which gutted Sunday Igboho’s house in the early hours of Tuesday.
Sunday Igboho has said property worth N50 million was destroyed by the fire.
DAILY POST learned that suspected hoodlums had come in about five vehicles, shooting sporadically in the air before setting the house ablaze.
Despite this narrative, the Oyo State government is yet to issue a statement to either condemn the actions of the suspected arsonists or to sympathise with Sunday Igboho.
