From Oyo State information, tourism and culture commissioner, Mr. Toye Arulogun came a revelation that criminal activities have reduced in the state.
According to Arulogun while fielding questions from Sunday Tribune, men of the joint security task force in the state -Operation Burst were tactically withdrawn from the streets.
Hear him: “When they needed to be on the road most visibly, everybody was seeing them. When the crime rates dropped, what would they be showing force for? It is a strategy. Operation Burst is accepted and effective in checkmating crimes. What you have only noticed is a tactical withdrawal. These happenings can’t remove the fact that we have achieved peace and security in the state. There has been a renaissance of night life in Ibadan. I go out in the night and I don’t use escort. I measure and gauge the opinion of people and the feedback I get is positive about what government is doing and what their expectations are. Before 2011, how many night clubs were operating in Ibadan? This can only happen in an atmosphere of peace.”
However, when asked why there are incessant robbery attacks despite presence of policemen in some of these areas, he answered: “We can’t have a zero-crime society, not even in the United States. There will still be pockets of such incidents. I am not saying these things are pleasant. What I am saying is that the rate of crimes has gone done tremendously. Some of these things come up when elections are coming. Government is taking it seriously and it has pumped a lot of money into security and safety. We have Operation Burst.”
