ON November 26, a first class traditional ruler in Ondo State was cut down in cold blood. The victim, Oba Israel Adegoke Adeusi, the Olufon of Ifon, was reportedly abducted by gunmen while returning from a meeting in Akure, the state capital, to his domain in Ose Local Government Area of the state. Coming on the heels of the killing of Funke Olakunri, daughter of Pa Reuben Fasoranti, leader of the apex Yoruba sociocultural group, Afenifere, in the same state last year, the killing of the Olufon represents a brazen and rude slap on the face of the Yoruba people who have for long suffered losses beyond tolerable limits.
According to media reports, the suspects in the killing of the Olufon have been arrested by the Amotekun security outfit in Ondo State, a development that has helped to mitigate the affront which the killing represents. The incident no doubt brings to the fore the need to step up vigilance in the entire South-West geopolitical zone immediately, and in the country as a whole. There is also a critical need to equip Amotekun with the necessary gadgets and ammunition it needs to play the full roles of a security agency. This is very important especially because the Nigeria Police Force is apparently overwhelmed by the daunting security challenges across the country. Amotekun can offer assistance when needed in the zone. Such assistance will further entrench the performance of the Nigerian state.
To say the least, the killing of Oba Adeusi is a tragic symbolism. Afenifere and other groups have issued stern press releases on the siege laid to the South-West geopolitical zone by nomadic herdsmen who have been fingered in the incidence of murder, rape and brigandage in the zone. On its part, the Ondo State government raised the alarm over the appalling security situation in the state. Reacting to the tragedy involving the Olufon of Ifon, the state Commissioner for Information, Donald Ojogo, said: “All lives matter, but this is too heavy and unbearable. It is a sad day in Ondo State. Clearly, we are in a serious security crisis that requires extraordinary means.”
Equally brazen is the way the nomadic herdsmen have persisted in harassing another traditional ruler in the state, Chief Olu Falae, on his farm in spite of the repeated reports made to the police. These incidents are orchestrated irritations to Nigerians in general and the people of the South-West geopolitical zone in particular and they certainly don’t bode well for peace either in the zone or the country as a whole. Much as all human lives are sacred irrespective of the class they belong to, the killing of the Olufon, a first class traditional ruler in Ondo State, is most worthy of condemnation. It is absolutely unacceptable and reprehensible.
It is distressing that the Nigerian state is taking its statutory duty of protecting life and property with levity and this has resulted in the proliferation of ungoverned spaces all over the country. There is a desperate need to recover these spaces and bring them under state control.
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