As herdsmen sacked villages in Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State, killing13 people in the process, a renowned human rights activist and executive chairman, Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ), Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and Oyo State governor, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi to stop the ongoing mindless killing of farmers and innocent people in the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo-State.
This is just as he disclosed that no fewer than 13 innocent Nigerians including farmers, security personnel, traders and hunters have been killed by the herdsmen in thetarea in the last few weeks.
He strongly condemned the nonchalant attitude of the Federal and State Governments on the re-occurring security challenges facing the people of the area since December,2017 which escalated recently that lead to the killing,maiming and kidnapping of innocent Nigerians in the area.
Sulaiman, who disclosed this in a signed Press statement which copies were made available to newsmen on Tuesday, stated that the herdsmen have sacked thousands of villagers from their villages in Irepo,Orelope and Olorunsogo and other local government areas of the
state in the last few days,urging the both Centre and State governments to take urgent action to nip the security challenges of the area in the bud before it goes out of hand to replicate the Adamawa,Borno and Yobe States security saga.
He added that investigation to the area at the weekend revealed that the villages including; Ojo-Aro,Pakoko, Alaje, Oopa,Gaa Tahiru,Teesi, Apata and host of other villages in the area have been taken over by the herdsmen and this development had turned the villagers to the displaced persons in the area.
Sulaiman who doubles as Convener, Save Lagos Group (SLG) urged the newly decorated Aare Onakakanfo of Yorbaland and Coordinator,Odua Peoples Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams not to take the issue of security threat of the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State with levity hands as live of innocent Nigerians are now brutish and shortish, adding that the Yoruba Generalissimo (Adams) needs to visit the area in order to ascertain the numbers of causalities in terms of loose of lives,injured persons and property, being recorded since January 2018 till today.
The rights activist then implored the authorities concerned to deploy the team of security personnel comprises of men of Nigeria Army, Mobile Police Force, Air force, DSS,Police and Civil Defence to beef up security around the area so as to forestall re-occurrence.
Speaking further on the development, Sulaiman maintained that his organizations would not hesitate to launch a nationwide mass rally tagged:”Operation Stop mindless Killing in Nigeria” which would be held across the State capitals of the Federation and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja,adding that information at his disposal revealed that the herdsmen have turned the old “Game Reserved and Tick Forest Trees” in the are into their hide out to perpetuate their evil agenda and merciless attacks.
According to him, “A stitch in time saves nine.This is high time for the government concerned to take the bull by the horn by taking the security challenges of the area with the high sense of responsibility because People of the area are now living in fear. There are recorded cases of killing, maiming and kidnapping of innocent citizens of the area in the last few weeks”
He insisted that the mind boggling killings by herdsmen extended to the other part of the country due to the incompetence of President Muhammadu Buhari led APC government at the centre, advising Governor
Ajumobi as Chief Security Officer(CSO) of the State to deploy all the necessary security apparatus to this area so as to forestall Benue State saga in the State.
Sulaiman therefore, called on the local and international humanitarian organizations in the country to come to the aid of the newly Internally Displaced Persons(IDP) in the area,saying this would go in long way to ameliorate their present predicament as a result of herdsmen attacks on their livelihood.
