All illegal miners, bandits, migrants, cultists and other men of the underworld have been warned by the Oyo State Security Council to desist from their acts, saying that the government is determined to deal decisively with them.
The Council gave the warning on Thursday, March 20, at a press briefing shortly after the state Expanded Security Council meeting, presided over by Governor Seyi Makinde, at the House of Chiefs, Secretariat, Ibadan, the state capital.
The expanded meeting, according to a statement by the Special Adviser to the governor, Dr Sulaimon Olanrewaju, was the first in the year, and 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 Seyi 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 feedbacks 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 speaking, the state Commissioner of Police, Johnson Adenola, said the Council resolved that there would not be stereotyping of people and criminality in the state.
According to the Police Commissioner, 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.”
Speaking further, CP 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.
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.”
He also lauded Governor Makinde for involving traditional rulers in the state’s expanded Joint Security Council.
The Chairman of the Association of Oyo State Local Government Chairmen, Sikiru Sanda, pledged that all council chairmen would support the state government to make the state safer.
In his remarks, the state’s Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Abiodun Aikomo, said Governor Seyi Makinde was committed to the enforcement of the rule of law to make Oyo State safer and more secure.
The commissioner emphasised that the state would continue to enforce the Executive Order on the Protection of Mining Communities against Insecurity and Exploitation, which was signed in 2023.
