WOLE BALOGUN, Ado Ekiti
Traditional rulers in Ekiti State have advised Governor John Kayode Fayemi and the residents of the state to go spiritual in effort to tackle the recurring incidents of abduction in the state.
Acting under the aegis of the Majority Obas of Ekiti Land (MOBEL), the monarchs gave the advice during a meeting with the state Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, in his office.
A statement issued on Sunday by the Special Assistant (Media) to the Deputy
Governor, Odunayo Ogunmola, quoted Egbeyemi as saying that government was doing everything possible in collaboration with security agencies to stop kidnapping in the state.
Egbeyemi urged residents to be security conscious and report suspicious movements and activities of strange persons in their vicinity to government and security agencies.
But MOBEL Chairman, Oba Ayorinde Oyedeji, said unorthodox methods could be used to compliment the efforts of security agencies to combat kidnapping and other violent crimes.
MOBEL is an association of Grade B and Grade C traditional rulers in Ekiti State.
Oba Oyedeji also doubles as the Olowa of Odo Owa Ekiti in Ijero Local
Government Area.
Oba Oyedeji said: “We are concerned about the upsurge of kidnapping in our state in particular and Yoruba land in general in recent times.
“We are Yoruba; we can tackle this problem through spiritual and metaphysical means to give security to our people.
“We have local hunters and vigilantes; they can be integrated into the security system. We can synergise to successfully curb kidnapping in our land.”
Responding, Egbeyemi said security is everybody’s business and should not be left in the hands of government alone.
The deputy governor advised the monarchs to forward a joint memo to the state government on modalities to tackle kidnapping and criminalities and issues bordering on security in their palaces.
Egbeyemi disclosed that the military men earlier withdrawn from their checkpoints in the state had returned to check insecurity.
He promised that the state government would also look into the demands of the monarchs bordering on their welfare and other issues of development in their domains.