The Oyo State Security Council has read the riot act to bandits, illegal miners, cultists and other men of the underworld to desist from the acts, saying the government is determined to deal with them decisively.
The council gave the warning at a press briefing shortly after the state’s expanded security council meeting, presided over by Governor Seyi Makinde, at the House of Chiefs, Secretariat, Ibadan, the state capital.
The expanded meeting, the first in the year, was attended by some members of the state executive council, security chiefs, traditional leaders and all the 33 local government chairmen.
Speaking after the meeting, the special adviser to governor Makinde on Security Matters, CP Fatai Owoseni (rtd), disclosed that the meeting was an initiative to holistically appraise the security situation of the state through feedback from all cadres of leadership in the state.
Owoseni asked all residents of the state to take security issues seriously, assuring them of prompt response to all security concerns.
He also urged them to make use of the toll free 615 security number in case of any emergency.
Also, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Johnson Adenola, said the council resolved that there would not be stereotyping of people and criminality in the state.
According to him, every Nigerian has a right to reside peacefully in their preferred part of the country.
The CP also disclosed that the Council warned illegal miners to desist from the act, saying, “They must obtain licences if they want to operate in the state.”
Adenola said the government would be looking at the boundary disputes with a view to putting an end to them, stating that the government would convene a meeting to address all pending issues after Ramadan.
He, therefore, urged residents of the state not to take the law into their hands.
The police chief also disclosed that the Council warned all bandits, cultists and other criminally-minded people to desist because the long arm of the law is bound to catch them if they don’t turn a new leaf.
Speaking on behalf of traditional rulers, the Olu of Igboora, Oba Jimoh Olajide Titiloye, said, “The traditional leaders are ready to support security operatives in their domains.”
