Oyo State Veteran Journalists Worry Over Insecurity

By Sakin Babalola, Ibadan

The Oyo State League of Veteran Journalists has expressed worry over the incessant killings and bloodshed of innocent Nigerians by Boko Haram insurgents, terrorists, bandits and rapists in the country at large.

In a statement in Ibadan today, the Chairman of the League, Mr Banji Ogundele, condemned the trend of fear and insecurity in the land, which threatens not only the livelihood of most Nigerians, but also the oneness of the country.

The Chairman, therefore, called on all governments in the country, federal, state and local, to urgently address the state of insecurity in the country. He said a situation whereby terrorists, bandits and rapists maim, kill, displace and scare people away from there towns, villages, houses and farms do not only threaten food supply but also turn able bodied men, women and children into internally displaced persons (IDP) in their own country.

He also called on security agents to deal decisively with the Boko Haram insurgents they claimed to have defeated, but who daily wreck havoc on innocent villagers, where they only register their presence after the deed had been done, leading to deaths of the innocent, maiming and raping of women and children.

“This state of fear and uncertainty must stop,” he said, reminding the President and his party that they won the last election on the promise of fighting insecurity, stopping corruption and revamping the economy.

Mr Ogundele said the record of some 717 cases of rape in five months (January to May) revealed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mohammed Adamu, recently was not only alarming, but also unprecedented in Nigeria’s history. He said the need for state police has become very urgent and asked the National Assembly to something about it. Community policing will reduce such problems.

The League also called on states to review their laws on rape to give adequate and maximum punishment to rapists and, on the courts to give speedy and adequate justice to culprits of rape to serve as a deterrent to others who might try to venture into such dastardly act.

Mr. Ogundele then called for a complete overall of the security system, adding that Nigeria is under policed because only 300,000 officers and men cannot adequately look after 200 million Nigerians as they will only be overstretched and outmanoeuvred during emergencies, like this. He said security details attached to politicians should be scrapped, since politicians claimed to be the true representatives of the people. He also condemned “men of God” who ask God to protect their members but go about with police escorts for personal safety.

He called on the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Shina Olukolu, to fish out all those behind the rape incidents and killings in the state and bring them swiftly to justice to solidify the confidence of the people of the state in the police force.