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By Sunday Ani, Lagos
A group made up of youths from the 16 local government areas of Ekiti State, Ekiti Parapo Renaissance Movement, EPRM, has condemned the killing of two traditional rulers in the state by suspected bandits.
The monarchs, the Elesun of Esun Ekiti and Onimojo of Imojo Ekiti, were attacked alongside the Alara of Ara Ekiti, Oba Adebayo Fatoba, who was lucky to have survived the attack.
They were said to be travelling on the Oke-Ako Road in Ikole Local Government Area in a car driven by Alara on their way back from a security meeting at Irele Ekiti.
The attackers were said to have taken their belongings and dragged their bodies into the bush.
Also, on Monday, some school children were reportedly kidnapped in Eporo Ekiti, Emure LGA as some armed bandits ambushed a school bus.
Rising from an emergency meeting earlier today (Tuesday) at the Spring View Hotel, Ado Ekiti, EPRM condemned the killing of the traditional rulers and abduction of school children in the state.
A statement by its national president, Oladapo Bamidele Tosin, said the security situation was getting worse by the day, and because of insufficient manpower and other logistics constraints, the various security agencies in the country are overwhelmed by the many sponsored terror groups attacking different parts of Nigeria, especially the South West Nigeria.
Tosin said that in the interim, the only visible solution to the worsening insecurity in Nigeria would be the deployment of hunters into the forests, farms and bushes across the country, and that the personnels to be so deployed should be indigenes of the communities who should know the local terrains.
He called on President Bola Tinubu to, as a matter of urgency, sign the Nigeria Hunters and Forest Security Service (NHFSS) Bill into law. He also sought the intervention of the Ooni of Ife, His Royal Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, to lead other traditional rulers, especially from the South West, on a mission to accomplish it, as according to him, that would be the best way to secure their communities.
He also alleged that those sponsoring terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other nefarious activities, as well as those benefitting from them, are resisting the signing of the NHFSS Bill into law, saying the enemies of Nigeria were afraid that their evil business would end if hunters were empowered and unleashed to secure forests, bushes and farms across the country.
He said: “Rising from an emergency meeting this morning, which centered on the killing on Monday, of two of our most respected monarchs, the Elesun of Esun Ekiti, and Onimojo of Imojo Ekiti who were shot dead by suspected herdsmen, as well as the abduction of innocent school children from a local school in Ekiti State, we hereby condemn these killings and abductions in the South West of Nigeria, especially in Ekiti State.
“We call on the Federal Government, through the various security agencies to, as a matter of urgency, rescue the innocent pupils, and go after the killers of our traditional rulers, apprehend them and bring them to book.
“We also seize this opportunity of mourning in Ekiti, to call Yoruba people of South West, to rise up to the occasion and protect our motherland. Our leaders, governors, senators, representatives and traditional rulers, should provide leadership and save our people through improved security measures.”
According to EPRM, various reports from the Nigeria Police, the Army, Civil Defence and other security agencies have it that over 90 percent of those abducting, raping and killing people of the South West are from outside the region. It, therefore, means that an indigenous approach to security is the answer to the challenge.
“As it stands now, the only solution we can see, is to employ and empower young men and women from each community to secure their local areas. This is because it is only the people in the community that understand their terrain and can identify the criminals among them. That way, it would be easy to identify strangers and criminals.
“In appreciation of those facts, we are in support of the President’s position to set up peculiar agency that would specialise in fighting crimes that are planned and executed within and around the forests, farms and bushes.
“We believe that when that Bill is signed into law, the organisation is expected to recruit personnel from local communities to secure their area and their states.
“Apart from helping to tackle insecurity, the engagement of these young people would engender massive employment which in itself, is one of the best means of tackling crimes.
“It is on that note that we call on His Royal Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife and other traditional rulers in the country, to rally round and support the signing of the NHFSS Bill into law as that would be the best way to secure their communities,” EPRM stated.
