Insecurity: Police mount 24hr surveillance on Lagos schools, farms

THE Commissioner of Police, Lagos Command, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, yesterday, disclosed that policemen have been deployed to carry out 24 hours surveillance on schools and farms, to avert kidnappings and banditry in Lagos State.

The Police boss, however, lamented that some of the terrains, especially those of the farms, were not accessible by vehicles.

He said the command would liaise with the Ministry of Agriculture and the state government in purchasing motorcycles for that patrol of the farmlands.

Fielding questions from journalists on the Command’s preparedness to prevent kidnap attacks on schools and farmlands, Odumosu said: “The Command has designed an Operation Order to cater for the deployment of personnel, surveillance, patrol and strict monitoring of schools and students’ activities across the state, in its bid to provide adequate security for both public and private schools in Lagos State.”

Besides, the Police boss said: “The command has also established synergy between schools, parents, communities and other security agencies in the state on the need to improve on the existing security architecture in various schools to forestall any attack or ugly incidents.

“The surveillance will be extended to farmlands. Unfortunately, some of them are located in rural areas that are not motorable. So, we have discussed with the Ministry of Agriculture that all farms must have government permits, as most of them are just farming without letting the government know what they are doing. It makes it difficult to provide security for them.

“We are going to incorporate the Ministry of agriculture and traditional rulers for data of farmlands. By the time this is put in place, we will begin to map out security strategies for them. At the moment, we are patrolling areas that are motorable. When we get the data and with the assistance of the Ministry of Agriculture and state government, we hope to use motorcycles to access the difficult terrains.” 

Our community no longer safe over herdsmen's influx — Iwo youths 

SOME angry youths in Iwo, Osun State, yesterday, expressed worry over the invitation to herdsmen by the town’s monarch, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, saying that the town is no longer safe.

The youths also stated that the rate of influx of herdsmen into the community is worrisome, hence the decision to alert the public.

Addressing newsmen, under the aegis of Iwoland Concerned Youths, its President, Taiwo Ewonda expressed worry over the influx of unknown herdsmen into the community since the blanket invitation by the monarch, urging the state government to take urgent steps to halt the trend.

Oba Akanbi had last Friday, February 19 stated that Iwo is ready to host more Fulani herdsmen and urged repentant herdsmen to relocate to the town.

But Ewonda said the invitation has led to an unexpected influx of unknown herdsmen into the community, making Iwo a security threat.

He said: “While it is expressly agreed that the operational Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is magnanimous enough to have allowed the freedom of movement and domiciliary in any part of the country by the indigenes of this nation, such constitutional liberty should, however, not be a license for visitors to be burdensome in another land.

“We are genuinely worried by the unexpected and injurious recent pronouncements of some leaders and traditional rulers of our community which are tilting towards threatening of the subsisting peace in our community

“Equally worrisome was the recent open invitation needlessly extended to the Fulanis by a revered traditional ruler in our community which has formed the pedestal for an influx of Fulani herdsmen into our constituency of recent like never before.

“It is our observation that this intended royal tact of extension of a blanket invitation to Fulani herdsmen is less thoughtful which is capable of rocking the subsisting peace of Iwoland.

“While it is expressly agreed that the operational Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is magnanimous enough to have allowed the freedom of movement and domiciliary in any part of the country by the indigenes of this nation, such constitutional liberty should, however, not be a licence for visitors to be burdensome in another land.

“As focused youths who are not ready to compromise the existence of peace in Iwoland, we want to dissociate ourselves from such royal blanket invitation of the Fulani herdsmen and to also enjoin the state government to take decisive action against the development in the interest of overall peace in our land.

“Our cursory observation since the expression of the most dangerous royal invitation to the herdsmen has shown that the influx of the Fulani herdsmen has become a daily occurrence in our land.  

“It is our absolute care and concern for the continuous safety of our people in their various homes which spurred our proactive approach to give the unsavory development the required and needed solution in a jiffy as tomorrow may be too late.”

Anti-Open Grazing Law: Again, Ondo Amotekun seizes over 100 cattle 

THE Ondo State Security outfit, codenamed Amotekun, yesterday, seized another 100 cattle, for violating the state government’s open grazing law.

It was gathered that the cattle were seized, after they allegedly destroyed farmlands in Ipinsa, in the Ifedore Local Government Area of the state.

The chairman of the security outfit, Chief Adetunji Adeleye said that Amotekun operatives were deployed there, after some farmers in Ipinsa sent a distress call to them following the invasion and destruction of their farms.

The herders, according to findings, fled the scene while the cattle were arrested by the security personnel.

Meanwhile, there was heavy vehicular traffic for over an hour along the Oyemekun-Oba Adesida road when Amotekun operatives conveyed the seized cows to their headquarters located at Alagbaka Government Reserve Area in Akure.

The Amotekun chairman said that the cows were arrested at Ipinsa and have been moved to the Amotekun office.

This came on a day nine herders and 100 cattle were arrested along the Akure/Ilesha road in the state capital.

Culled from Vanguard