Oyo state governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde has assured the people of Igangan community in Ibarapa North area of the state of the commitment of his administration in putting an end to violence and attacks by gunmen in the area.
Governor Makinde gave the assurance to the residents when he paid an assessment tour to the area.
The governor who took responsibility for the incident maintained that he would do everything within his powers to stop maiming of people in the area.
He appealed to those who lost their relatives to the ugly incident to give government the opportunity to put necessary measures in place to enable people to go about their normal activities without fear.
Governor Makinde explained that the light up project embarked upon by the present government was to improve the security of the state.
It would be recalled that gunmen invaded Igangan community at midnight on Saturday 5th June, 2021,killed many people and burnt houses including the palace of Asigangan of Igangan.
The Chief Press Secretary, CPS, to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Mr Taiwo Adisa has warned opposition elements in the state to stop playing politics with the insecurity situation in Ibarapa and Oke-Ogun areas of the state.
A statement by the governor’s aide says that most of the comments attributed to opposition elements on the security situation in the state missed the point due to pettiness, contempt and clear attempt to play to the gallery.
According to him, if opposition elements were true lovers of the state, they should have used the occasion to demonstrate patriotism by empathising with the people of the state and coming up with their own ideas on how to address the situation.
Mr Adisa said Governor Makinde had, at the height of the insecurity in Ibarapa, deployed Operation Burst, a state-backed security outfit comprising the Army, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Police to Ibarapa in large numbers.
The governor had also caused to be deployed, men and officers of MOPOL 72, located strategically in Ago-Are in Oke-Ogun axis.
He added that the government followed-up that deployment with the mass deployment of the men of the Oyo State Security Network Agency, also known as Amotekun, to Ibarapa and Oke-Ogun axes to quench the rising insecurity.
Mr Adisa maintained that the mass deployment of security operatives to the area had begun to yield positive results in the last few weeks, stating that on January 9, the Amotekun Corps worked with Vigilante Group of Nigeria, local hunters, and Miyetti Allah Vigilantes to comb forests straddling four local governments in Ibarapa and Iwajowa Local Government Areas of Oke-Ogun.
“For the avoidance of doubt, before those fanning the embers of ethnic crisis and their Hosanna crowd went to town with their showmanship gimmicks, the government had made serious efforts to tame the insecurity situation in Ibarapa.”
“Apart from initiating several peace meetings between Yoruba and Fulani residents of the axes, the government took steps to deploy a heavy security presence to Ibarapa and at a point, even backed a community-based effort to rid the forests of kidnappers and bandits.”
“It would be recalled that the government had backed a similar approach in Kisi, Igbeti and Igboho axes of the state and was able to achieve a great success without necessarily making noise in the media about it.”
A popular Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, on Friday stormed Igangan, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State to fulfill his promise to chase the Fulanis out of Ibarapa land.
He was received with excitement by youths of the community who welcomed him with singing and dancing before storming Igangan Town Hall where he addressed them.
The visit was in fulfilment of a promise by Sunday Igboho to ensure that banditry and kidnapping were totally eradicated in Ibarapa and Oyo State as a whole.
Sunday Igboho had, on January 15, stormed the Fulani settlements in Igangan with an instruction that the entire Fulanis in the community should leave the area within seven days, having been fingered in the series of abductions, killings, and other criminal activities in the area.
Addressing the youths, Sunday Adeyemo who could not hide his anger insisted that herdsmen will be chased away from the town and the entire Yorubaland for inciting insecurity and banditry.
He enjoined the people to remain calm noting that normalcy, safety and security would soon return to the region with the move taken so far.
He added that the visit is a product of the frustration over the incessant killings, kidnappings, and destruction of farms allegedly carried out by herdsmen in Ibarapaland, Igboho areas of Oyo State as well as in the entire Yorubaland.
Ahead of his arrival, some youths made bonfires on major streets of the town, singing and chanting solidarity and freedom song from all forms of oppressions.
Speaking on the development,a community leader, Taiwo Adeagbo explained that, Sunday Igboho left the town immediately after the meeting held at the town hall.
Chief Adeagbo also said trouble, however, started when some Fulanis brought out some arms including AK-47 to attack some of the youths right in the presence of officers of Nigerian Police that had come to ensure peace and orderliness in the area.
He said eight persons were injured in the attack but were all responding to treatment at the hospital.
Reacting to the development, the Asigangan of Igangan land, Oba Lasisi Olawoye-Adeoye said he had cautioned the Fulanis so many times on their excesses but they had refused to listen to him.
The monarch, however, denied inviting Sunday Igboho to Ibarapa to curb the excesses of the Fulanis as being alleged.
The Seriki Fulani of Yorubaland, Alhaji Saliu Abdulkadri insisted that Sunday Igboho and his men killed two Fulanis while three others are still missing.
Responding, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr Olugbenga Fadeyi said police officers and other security officers have been deployed to the area to prevent further break down of law and order.
He, however, said no report of any killing have been sent to his office.
It was gathered that Seriki Fulani’s settlement and five of his vehicles were set ablaze by the angry mob.
