Oyo sets up task force on kidnappings

THE Oyo State Government on Wednesday reiterated that adequate security measures have been put in place to address the insecurity situation in the Oke-Ogun area of the state following the increased rate of kidnappings.

The State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Toye Arulogun disclosed this in Ibadan.

Arulogun explained that after the various meetings held with farmers, herdsmen, traditional rulers, security agencies and other stakeholders, the Governor of the state Senator Abiola Ajimobi recently set up a taskforce to look into the spate of kidnappings, maiming and crisis between the herdsmen and farmers in the Oke-Ogun Area, noting that the task force visited the zone to ascertain the present situation of things in the area.

Mr Arulogun said that the government has mandated security agencies in the state to beef up security around the state and improve on their intelligence gathering, stating that these efforts have been yielding positive results with the arrest of some suspected kidnappers by the security agencies.

He said that the increase in surveillance by the security agencies has doused the tension in the area, assuring that the state government will continue to provide adequate measures to ensure that lives and properties are secured in the State.

According to the commissioner, “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.

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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 cum 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 set up a task force to address the issue of Oke Ogun in addition to the existing security apparatus.

“The security agencies in Oyo State are living up to expectation and we should all join hands with them to ensure that security is not breached in the state.

We should commend them for their improved intelligence as well as pro-activeness to ensure that the state is not turned into the crisis-torn state.

On our part, the government will not renege to provide adequate security for its people and support all the security agencies to perform their duties well,” Arulogun added.