10th June, 2018
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
The Afenifere Renewal Group has again raised the alarm over the spate of insecurity in Southwest region, particularly along the highways and in the rural areas as result of porous borders.
The group said it raised the alarm, having reviewed the details of the recent kidnap and release of Dr. Tunde Amusat, who is the secretary of a pan-Yoruba group, Atayese.
“We note that it is sad and an irony of fate for a leader of a group dedicated to the betterment of the society to be a victim of such dastardly act.
“Dr. Amusat’s testimony suggested that the kidnappers that operated along the Iwaraja-Efon Alaaye highway are hardened criminals with trademarks of insurgents. This is believable judging from the speed and ease with which they have killed some of their victims, including the younger brother of a former commissioner in Ekiti State, late Dr Wole Olugboji,” ARG said in a statement issued by Kunle Famoriyo, Publicity secretary on Sunday.
The group said soldiers of the 32 Artillery Brigade that recently combed the forest along the highway found a decomposing body suspected to be a kidnap victim and found makeshift camps allegedly used by the criminals, saying this development was worrisome as it buttressed its suspicion that terror now lived in forests and rural areas as a result of porous borders.
“From Ketu community in Yewa land to several communities in Kwara State, reports of armed banditry and herdsmen assaults are rising. This is increasingly forcing our people to abandon their farms and thereby displacing them economically.
“We are compelled to raise alarm over this spate of insecurity and we call on our state governors and security officers to stop treating this matter with kid gloves. For instance, Ketu community straddles both Nigeria and Benin Republic. But while the Beninoise Gendarme reportedly protects the community within its own boundary, Nigeria’s immigration and police expose the community in Nigeria to assaults from herdsmen.
“If the situation does not improve, we would have no choice but to mobilize self-defense efforts, which our people are capable of. We therefore call on our monarchs, as the custodian of the cultural assets of the people, to engage in consultations that can bring lasting solutions to the terror that lives in our forests,” the body said.