Intensify search for Aremu’s killers, Oyo Assembly tells CP

• Age falsification to attract N500,000 fine, 5yrs imprisonment

Oyo State House of Assembly has charged the state’s Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade, and other security agencies, to intensify efforts into identifying the killers of Honourable Gideon Aremu.

Speaker of the Assembly, Honourable Micheal Adeyemo, made this call at the Tuesday’s plenary, following deliberations on cultism and insecurity in the state.

He decried that little had been heard on Aremu’s demise, urging security agencies to step up intelligence efforts in discovering persons behind the “dastardly act.”

Honourable Olusegun Olaleye had brought up the issue of insecurity in the state, noting that cultism was on the rise in Agbowo, Barika and Ijokodo areas of Ibadan, the state capital.

He stated that cult clashes had resulted in the death of five persons in the past two weeks and people of the neighbourhoods around the University of Ibadan and The Polytechnic, Ibadan, lived in fear of cultists’ activities.

Consequently, the Assembly urged landlords’ associations in the mentioned hot spots and the management of the University of Ibadan and The Polytechnic, Ibadan to engage in joint programme of action aimed at curbing cultism.

The Assembly further resolved to call on the Ministry of Information and Orientation to embark on sensitisation, while the state government should rejig its security master plan.

Also, the Oyo State Tertiary Institutions Staff Retirement Age Bill, 2016 was passed into law following the presentation of the report by Honourable Afeez Adeleke and Honourable Buliamin Azeez of the joint committees on Education, Science and Technology and Establishment, Training and Poverty Alleviation.

Among other provisions in the law is a penalty of N500,000 and/or five years imprisonment for staff who falsify their ages, while the age of retirement for tertiary education staff is 65 years.

In other deliberations at Tuesday’s plenary, the Assembly urged the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the state government to provide compensation packages for the victims of the recent Gbagi market fire incident.

Honourable Olasunkanmi Oguntade of Egbeda constituency, who notified the Assembly of the fire incident, decried that the several illegal structures had been disrupting the original master plan of the market and hindering easy access in cases of emergency.

In another motion jointly sponsored by the Speaker, Honourable Micheal Adeyemo and Honourable Fatai Adesina of Ibadan South East 1 state constituency, the Assembly called on the state government to financially support Crown Football Club of Ogbomoso in the club’s quest to win the 2016 Federation Cup.

The Assembly urged the state’s Ministry of Sports to mobilise the people of the state to support the football club in its upcoming Federation Cup semi final match against Ifeanyi Uba Football Club.