From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives, yesterday, resolved to constitute an Ad-hoc committee to investigate the crisis rocking Osun State over the administration of local government areas which has claimed no fewer than six lives in the state..
The House also charged the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, the Department of State Security (DSS) and other security agencies to ensure that normalcy is restored to all local government councils in the state.
This followed the adoption of a motion by the leader of the Osun State caucus in the House, Bamidele Salam and eight others, on the need to maintain law and order in the state, in view of the recent crisis over local government administration in the state.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters clashed recently over an alleged attempt by ousted council chairmen to forcefully return to office.
However, Salam, in his motion, contended that if the alleged resort to self help by political actors in the state is not nipped in the bud, it would plunge the state into chaos.
He said the violence which broke out in several parts of Osun February 17 was as a result of the attempt to take over the administration of local governments in the state by the officials who were sacked by a court judgment in November 2022.
Salam said that the sacked officials broke the gates of their respective local government secretariats to forcefully take over the councils without any court order.
He said Governor Ademola Adeleke had earlier raised an alarm on the imminent threat to peace and security in the state.
The lawmaker said the governor had also called on the Inspector-General of Police and heads of other security agencies to take proactive steps to forestall the violence.
He expressed the concern that if the current trend of resorting to self-help by political actors was not nipped in the bud, it might encourage citizens to do the same in the face of perceived rights and privileges.
“The present situation in Osun may snowball into a free-for-all unless urgent actions are taken by relevant authorities.
“The preventable violence which happened in Osun had led to the death of six persons while scores of others suffered severe injuries and are presently receiving treatment in various hospitals,” he said.
Salam said if prompt action was not taken against the ongoing lawlessness and arbitrariness, it might escalate into more serious security challenges in the state.
According to him, the most fundamental objective and primary purpose of any government is the security and welfare of the people.
He said that as representatives of the people, the house had the duty and responsibility of ensuring safety of lives and property in the country.
Salam, however, said that the police, Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies had the capacity to restore normalcy in all the local government councils.
In his ruling, the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, said that an ad hoc committee would be constituted to carry out the investigation.
Abbas led the House into observing a minute silence in honour of those who lost their lives during the crisis.