Some time ago, Faye Mooney, a Briton, and Mathew Oguche, her Nigerian colleague, were killed and three others abducted by some terrorists at Kajuru Castle in Kaduna State.
Mooney and Oguche, the victims, were part of 11 tourists and a tour guide visiting the castle for a weekend getaway.
As expected, the management of the luxury castle took to its Facebook page to announce that, “Kajuru Castle will be closed for public until security in the environs improves”.
Sadly, till date, the castle has not opened as the security situation has gone worse than it was before the attack by terrorists.
Of course, many businesses, especially tourism and hospitality in Kaduna State and in the North East region of the country, which is the epicenter of terrorists’ attacks, have collapsed due to low patronage occasioned by fear of attack and kidnapping.
As at today, there are no foreign branded hotels in the whole of North West and North East regions as international brands such as Marriott, Hilton, Radisson Group, among others shun the regions because of insecurity. Recall that in February 2020, an American hotel group declined in managing a new 85-room hotel in Kano for the fear of security of their partners’ investment, safety of staff and incessant attacks on potential guests.
As well, tour operators, travel agencies and airline businesses, most of which have relocated to Abuja, are the least thriving in the regions because of growing insecurity.
According to Saleh Rabo, president, Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN), the travel and tourism sector lost over N12 billion daily last year as a result of the impact of Covid-19, while the hotel sub-sector lost N2 billion daily.
The losses are compounded by the growing insecurity across the country, as would-be guests are held back because of fear of attacks, resulting in low patronage, and sadly making recovery of the sector from the impact of the pandemic more difficult.
Also, farmers, aggregators and suppliers of about 40 percent of agro-allied produce to the hospitality sector were almost out of business in 2020 due to the growing insecurity, especially attacks on farmers.
Businesses in the agro-allied produce value chain were terribly impacted by both insecurity and the pandemic in 2020, resulting in downsizing, inability to repay bank loans, collapse of some businesses and hardship for many families.
Again, the growing insecurity unsettled many businesses, especially farming, considering the number of farmers that were killed last year across the country by bandits and terrorists.
According to Amnesty International, more than 1,100 people were killed in rural areas across several states of northern Nigeria amid an alarming escalation in attacks and abductions during the first half of 2020.
“The Nigerian authorities have left rural communities at the mercy of rampaging gunmen who have killed at least 1,126 people in the north of the country since January,” the London-rights group said in a report, giving a figure until the end of June 2020.
According to Osai Ojigho, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, villages in the south of Kaduna State were affected the most, with at least 366 people killed in multiple attacks by armed men since January 2020. The number of casualties almost doubled by the end of 2020.
There is anticipation for famine in 2021 because many farmers and their families were forced out of their homes while thousands could not cultivate their farms during the 2020 rainy season because of fear of attacks or abduction.
Apart from farming businesses, which have attracted many in recent times, food packaging and processing, haulage and logistics businesses were also impacted negatively by insecurity in 2020.
Ikechukwu Anibueze, CEO, Hydra Haulage, a Lagos-based haulage company, which does product deliveries for breweries across Nigeria, decried that his company lost three trucks in 2020 to bandit attacks in Kaduna, Kano and Minna.
“In the past, some armed youths will stop our drivers and collect huge sum of money to allow our trucks access on highways in the North, on suspecting that we are delivering alcoholic beverages. It took a deadly turn in 2020 when they started setting our trucks on fire and destroying goods. Though we insured all our trucks, our insurers have advised us to stop deliveries in some high risk areas because of the premium,” Anibueze said.
The haulage business mogul decried that insecurity is now forcing many companies to set up mini factories in areas far away from their base to reduce cost hitherto incurred from haulage.
“But the mini factories come at huge cost; there is also burden of transporting raw materials, safety of personnel and facilities in high risk areas across the country. Insecurity is an additional burden to erratic power supply, multiple taxation and other factors that are killing businesses in Nigeria now”, he concluded.
For Kunle Hamid, a pharmacist, who runs chains of pharmaceutical shops across the country, insecurity took a worse dimension in 2020.
“For the first time in my 14 years practice and business, hoodlums broke into my shops severally in Ibadan and Ilorin, stealing and inflicting injuries on my staff despite the community services we render to our hosts. A member of the hoodlums that was arrested in Ilorin after the lockdown said pharmacies were making money during the lockdown and they came for their share,” Hamid said.
As well, it was not business as usual for businesses that rely on the highways to transport goods around the country in 2020. From Abuja to Kaduna, Lagos to Aba, Enugu to Jos, Benin to Port Harcourt and Ibadan to Okene, there were many cases of attacks on commercial vehicles, trucks and even petrol tankers by armed hoodlums, who stole from their innocent victims, raped some, killed a few and redirected trucks and tankers to unknown destinations.
Akachukwu Esonye, an Aba-based businessman, lost his right thumb during one of the attacks along the Ore-Benin Expressway, when the attackers couldn’t transfer money from his ATM card.
While being chased by the hoodlums, some tanker and truck drivers have intentionally driven into valleys or rough terrains to avoid their products being drained by the hoodlums, while some sell the products to petrol stations along the highways and later allege hoodlum attack. But the business owners suffer the loss.
Apart from impacting investments, social life is gone in most parts of the country where the attacks are commonplace. Moreover, life in the displacement camps is worse than in prison for many who lost all to the attacks.
While in the camps, education, business and life itself are all at standstill.
It is said that in Katsina State, at least 33,130 people were living in displacement camps, while others have headed to urban areas to stay with relatives.
However, some security experts think that insecurity is escalating in Nigeria because the government has not given it the required attention. According to them, Boko Haram, bandits and hoodlums are not stronger than the Nigerian Army, but that the military has not being encouraged by government to fight to finish.
“First, the Buhari government has failed in securing the lives of Nigerians, which it swore an oath to protect, all because of some unknown interests. But the interests of Nigerians should supersede the President’s and his cabals,” Ayeh Yakubu, a security expert, said.
For him, the way forward is to sack the present security chiefs, flush out saboteurs in the army and raise the morale of soldiers to fight once again.
“It is a shame that Brutai is from Bornu and a Kanuri man and Boko Haram is killing his people. That alone means he has failed and should be removed,” he said.
Femi Omilani, another security expert, noted that bandits cannot thrive without support, and that government knows their supporters, but has been playing hide and seek game with it.
“Some bandits were caught with military guns and nobody is asking questions, government has always made the mistake of negotiating with terrorists and it keeps failing. Despite the repentant Boko Haram, the sect is still killing people every day, why negotiate, why not carry out sustained attacks on them and collaborate with international partners for coordinated attacks and results,” Omilani said.
The experts insisted that Nigeria can defeat the attackers in 2021 if government gets serious with the fight, do the needful by sacking whoever is not performing, provide needed ammunitions, raise soldiers morale, arrest and prosecute saboteurs, and collaborators of the attacker in high places.
North East
Borno
Insecurity has been a major challenge facing the people of the North East geo-political zone in the last one decade. The Islamist sect, Boko Haram insurgents, have continued their bloody campaign, wreaking havoc on communities, farmers and farm lands, motorists and businesses which have almost collapsed the economy of the area.
Business owners have felt the heat as they make passionate appeals to the Federal Government and security agencies to urgently tackle the lingering security problems that had affected businesses in Borno. They have also said urged authorities to step up efforts to ensure that Borno regains its lost glory and become the economic hub of northern part of the country.
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Businessmen who spoke to BusinessDay in Maiduguri said their businesses have been under threat and affected by the constant attacks from the Boko Haram terrorists along Maiduguri/Damaturu highway. They claimed to have incurred losses running into millions of naira.
Babagana Tukur, who is birds and fabrics dealer, plies the road almost every week, claimed he lost over N100,000 in a month due to attacks on motorists.
“I ply this road every week, things are getting worse on daily basis, the road is not safe especially between Jakana and Auno; it is becoming a death trap.
“Sometimes, I go to Bauchi or Kano to buy fabrics and birds, respectively and take them to Maiduguri. Almost every week, I incur loses more than N20, 000. Business is fast becoming unpalatable, we are helpless. Our security agencies need to rise above repelling but eliminate the insurgents so that our business can come back to life,” Tukur decried.
Maiduguri-based Entrepreneur, Debola Oladipupo who lamented how insurgency and bandits had affected logistics companies, said that insecurity has skyrocketed the cost of goods in the market.
“Things are getting out of hand; many of logistics companies are no longer ready to come to far north. Persistent insecurity all over the country is driving us crazy.
“I spoke with one of my customer-companies, they told me that my goods would get to Damaturu but they can’t take any risk to come ply Maiduguri/Damaturu road because one of their trucks was burnt down last month,” Oladipupo said.
According to her, “The cost of goods in the market here is now higher; what you bought N20,000 two month ago is ranging between N25,000 to N30,000 now. Boko Haram and other criminal elements need to be flushed out to enable people do their business without fear.”
On his part, Ibrahim Balami, an engineer, advocated for urgent needs to tackle insurgency, stressing that the small business owners have suffered loss of their capitals as a result of unending security challenges in the northeast.
“The insurgency in the northeast has been on for 11 years; it has greatly affected small business owners and entrepreneurship. Sometimes, you can’t even predict the roads, what would happen between Damaturu and Maiduguri; so, it has not been easy. There are opportunities here because Maiduguri borders three countries but the unending insurgency has been our problem.
“If not for the insurgency, I believe Borno would have been economically viable but insecurity has crippled it. The insecurity in Borno has severely affected Kano, Kaduna and Lagos that solely depend on Borno to do some export activities,” Balami further said.
Taraba
The persistent Tiv/Jukun crisis has caused a major setback to businesses in Taraba. Communities of Taraba who are affected by the insecurity have continued to recount their losses in the crisis, especially in the southern and central Taraba.
Late last year, Aminah Jen told our correspondent that her rice mill was destroyed when Tiv militia attacked Sondi in Wukari Local Government Area of the state.
“Businesses are not moving again. I have relocated to Wukari, but things haven’t changed. The crisis has affected businesses and life generally in our area.
“The truth is that most of our customers are Tiv who have been displaced and can’t come to Wukari market at the moment. We were only left with students who were also forced to stay at home because of Covid-19,” Jen said.
“I want to call on Governor Darius Ishaku and his Benue counterpart, Samuel Ortom to jointly find a lasting solution to the crisis,” Jen said.
Village head of Ananum community, Tor Zaa who lost relations and the entire village to the crisis, lamented that the entire village was destroyed by the fire power of militia who he alleged were accompanied by soldiers when the village was attacked on May 7 and June 6, 2020.
“This village is one of the most economically viable places in Donga Local Government. Go to the market square and see the level of damage caused by the militia.
“No one in government circle is talking about what we are going through. Thousands of people have been displaced here and the entire village destroyed.
“All the two attacks happened on a market day, taking people unawares. People who stored goods and those who had investments here lost them in the crisis,” Zaa lamented.
A businessman in Taraba, Samuel Nege said he lost over N40 million worth of rice and property in the Jukun/Tiv crisis when his warehouse was attacked.
Nege said irate youths had invaded his house in Gidin Dorowa Wukari Local Government and carted away 1,400 bags of rice, destroyed his store and houses.
Nege said: “We all know the economic implication of not having farm produce; the prices of food items will increase and hunger will become the order of the day.
“I want to call on the Federal Government to rise and put a stop to the crisis for the good of all.”
While the elite continue to engage in high profile peace meetings, the locals want the Taraba State government to as a matter of urgency, deploy security forces to the affected villages in the Southern and Central zones to end the killings and ensure their safe return for them to continue with their businesses.
Top on the list of their demands is that government should assist in providing housing and farming materials to enable them pick up their lives and move on.
The Taraba State government recently constituted a Commission of enquiry to find out the remote and immediate causes of the Jukun-Tiv crisis as well as other tribal conflicts in the state. The commission has since submitted its report to the state government.
South-South, South-East
Ritual killing and kidnapping are right now thriving, as they are the number one crime in the south-south and south-east of Nigeria. Kidnapping seems to get the upper hand because it is from the stock of kidnapped persons that those to be butchered for ritual purposes and sold out to their patrons are selected.
According to regular police bulletins, persons are kidnapped on daily basis in most towns and cities in the region; at home, on the streets, on the highways, etc. They are often taken to the bushes and forests for warehousing. There, some regain freedom after ransom but many die.
Those who came out alive have revealed that the kidnappers usually bring terrifying characters introduced as native doctors who make a show of pointing at those they wanted as victims. The kidnappers would threaten to hand over those who failed to pay up to the butchers to extract human parts for ritualists.
There have been tales of passengers in cars and buses that have been diverted to forests where they said they saw rows of humans tied to trees and taken one after the other to a killing spot. The accounts are terrifying, but there have been no police corroboration. Instead, churches are filled with testimonies of escapees or their relations giving raw accounts of escape from kidnappers and ritual killings. They refuse to go ahead and file complaints at the police.
Other major violent crimes constituting insecurity in the south-south and south-east include robbery and rape. These have teamed up to render the region highly unsafe. As a result, business people no longer go out early nor do they stay late to transact deals. This has reduced business real time to between 7am and 7pm. Travellers are more at risk as they face threats on the highways should their vehicles run late.
In most streets in the cities such as Port Harcourt, traders hardly renew their rents due to poor sales revenues caused by constant harassment by gangs. They close too early and hardly make good sales to support the business. Many shops are empty at the moment in Port Harcourt.
Armed robbers invade business places and homes and cause big threats which have made investors to have a rethink. Often, it costs hugely to protect a business in the region.
The bushes and forests that once were farms and resourceful zones have turned to danger zones and warehouses for kidnappers. Hunters seem to have pulled out of the forests for fear of being killed. The forests between Ogoni in Rivers State and Akwa Ibom have been turned to danger zones. The Etche forests are now dreaded except as some vigilante groups now man the roads.
The lonely areas from Emuohua in Rivers State to Patani and Warri along Bayelsa and Delta axis have been taken over by armed men.
In Rivers State, a group known as OSPAC has formed a shield to protect travellers and the roads but the forests remain home to evil men.
Aba
Stakeholders want South-East governors to set up security outfit, include security in school curriculum
Ceaseless kidnappings, armed robbery, cultism, herdsmen attack on farmers and other violent crimes are on the increase in the South-East region of Nigeria.
In Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, residents of the city, in 2020, held a security summit in a bid to have a blueprint on fighting myriad of security challenges faced in the commercial city, especially kidnapping, armed robbery and cultism.
The event was organised by Umuaba in Valencia-Spain, a branch of Umuaba Worldwide, a social group that coordinates and brings together all creative, industrious and vibrant personalities, who grew up in Aba.
Participants at the summit with the theme: “making Aba safe for investors and investments”, include the army, the police, the DSS, the Nigerian Legion, civil society groups and the Abia State Ministry of Homeland Security.
The aim of the event was to rebrand Aba to meet her old glory, refine the security architecture of the city, reshape the mindset of the younger ones and remind everyone that security is a partnership between citizens and security agencies.
Meanwhile, about 500 young Abians, drawn from the 17 Local Government Areas of the state have been recruited into the State Homeland Security System, aimed at securing the lives and properties of residents.
They have been trained by the Nigeria Police and are ready to be deployed across the state, as neighborhood watch and forest guards, to help secure the environment, against incessant killings and kidnappings that have become the order of the day.
These newly recruited officers of Abia Homeland Security Unit will work with the Police in the management of crime prevention and management system (CPAMS), which was launched in November, 2020, by the state governor.
They have been trained in data management and software appreciation and will form the first batch of security personnel in Abia State with top flight software training experience.
Enugu
‘Give us security outfit like western Nigeria’
Celestine Odogwu, a farmer, whose oil palm plantation at Ogor-Affa in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State was destroyed by herdsmen, urged governors of the South-East states to emulate their South-West counterparts by setting up a security outfit to protect the people.
Despite destroying his plantation, Odogwu noted that the herdsmen killed his farm manager and dragged him into huge financial commitment.
According to him, the Enugu State Governor was informed about the incident, but refused to say anything or compensate him and the Fulani culprits, who were arrested and admitted to the crime, were released.
He noted that any South East Governor still sleeping, believing that the most important thing to do is to stay in the good books of persons in power, known to be friends with Miyetti Allah is dreaming, big time.
“Likely within limited funds, the Enugu State Government may have started with a plan of setting up Forest Guards, but it is still a non-starter. Two dane guns, five daggers, ten black T-shirts are even less than the Boy scout kits, for a community of over one thousand persons.
“Everybody, wake up! We are being overrun; far more threatened than we were in 1966/67”, he observed.
Chigozie Ubani, a security expert, and senior special assistant to Abia State Governor on Homeland Security, called for inclusion of security in primary/secondary school curriculum.
“For us to gain a secured society, we must include security in our school curriculum. Police is not security. Security is information, while police is just law enforcement agency that works with the information available.
“Citizens need to participate in police and policing. Homeland security office is here to complement the efforts of the law enforcement agency, especially the police.
Major hot spots in Enugu include Enugu North especially Nsukka. The area between Enugu and Abia State is also a hot spot.
Benin
The provision of adequate security for a state is of extreme importance to creating an enabling environment to attract investors and ensure businesses thrive.
However, the rising wave of insecurity in Edo State, particularly Benin City, has compelled investors to halt their investment plans as no one would want to do business transactions amid fear of being attacked or robbed. Furthermore, it has led to a surge of anxiety among Small Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) as well as residents.
Recently, there have been reported cases of burglary, kidnappings on highways, attack on Point of Sales (POS) operators, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards theft in urban centre of the state. And this has crippled businesses and POS services which were conspicuously displayed in almost every street, especially in distant areas.
Some areas including Upper Sokponba axis of Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area; Ugbowo and Ogida areas in Egor LGA, have been identified as flashpoints.
Edo State, a nodal state for South-South Nigeria, has witnessed various unlawful acts such as the jailbreaks of two correctional centres which emanated from the #EndSARS protest, robbery incidents and resurgence of cult clashes that claimed many victims.
The growing security threat was compounded by the gloomy news that several suspected criminals escaped from the state’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID), on New Year’s Day.
Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki in a recent state-wide broadcast said efforts are in place to restore peace to the state and build a robust security system.
He added that the government would be launching the operation ‘Know Your Neighbour,’ campaign, where citizens will be requested to provide information and identities of all those who live close to them.
For Osazee Edigin, a Benin-based human rights activist, government should provide high tech equipment for the police and create a neighborhood watch security network that will complement the efforts of the law enforcement agencies.
Edigin, who is the former Public Relations Officer of Edo State Civil Society Organisation (EDOCSO), told BusinessDay SUNDAY that, “Job creation for young minds should be a deliberate policy of government so as to get their hands and minds busy. Gathering of intelligent reports should be prioritised while citizens’ confidence in giving useful information to the relevant authorities is built”.
Uyo
Soon after the #EndSARS protest, which erupted across the country, Akwa Ibom, which was hitherto known as one of the most peaceful states in the country, saw an escalation in violent crimes like armed robbery, burglary, rape and sexual molestations.
Though statistics are not readily available, reported cases of armed robbery in Uyo, the state capital, were made almost on a daily basis, with cases of car snatching topping the list.
This has created fear and anxiety among the business community and residence of the state so much that business owners were reported to be closing their shops before dusk.
This equally affected night life as bars and night clubs had to think security first before business. It is against this background that the state government recently presented 30 branded Hilux vehicles to the state police command as part of measures to beef up security patrol in the state.
According to experts, this seemed to have paid off as reported incidents of armed robbery and other violent crimes have reduced.
The 30 vehicles were the first batch of 100 patrol trucks which the state government pledged to the security agencies in the state. The vehicles were received by the police commissioner, Andrew Amiengheme on behalf of other security agencies in the state.
According to Odiko MacDon, SP, Police Public Relations Officer, Akwa Ibom police command, the donation of the vehicles has significantly improved the operational efficiency of the command as it is now able to respond quickly to distress calls.
“There is a lot of improvement in security now; we now have the ability to move around faster to have access to places that were difficult to do reach before now. We now have quicker time to respond to crime,” he office.
Describing the donation as a morale booster, he hoped that the Governor Udom Emmanuel would fulfill his promising of donating the remaining 700 vehicles to security agencies in the state noting that the police command got 16 vehicles from the first batch that was donation and has since put them to use.
Analysts believe that with the support of the state government and the readiness of the people to volunteer intelligence to security agencies, the current crime wave would be further reduced which they say would encourage the growth of business activities and investment in the state.
“The people should abhor criminality, expose criminally minded people and continue to trust and partner the police for enhanced security service delivery,” he said.
A desperate situation
A recent survey conducted by Infotrak Research and Consulting, shows that Nigerians are more worried over insecurity than they are of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. According to the poll, seven percent of respondents expressed worry over COVD-19, while 16 percent placed insecurity as their major worry in 2020.
Senator Iroegbu, a security analyst agrees that insecurity was Nigeria’s biggest challenge in 2020, he noted that insecurity did not only claim more lives than other problems such as the pandemic but crippled economic activities and pushed Nigerians into poverty and hunger further.
Iroegbu noted that no sector in Nigeria witnessed any real development due to the level of insecurity in 2020.
“Farmers were worst hit, food production was affected and this resulted to high cost of food prices and rise in inflation. The education sector was not spared, students were also targets of these clandestine groups, obvious examples are the abduction of Kankara school boys in the north. This situation will no doubt heighten fear among children and parents and discourage them from going to school, and further exacerbate the burden of out of school children in the region.
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The analyst opined that government must go beyond making promises to taking real actions and be proactive. He said the New Year speech where President Muhammadu Buhari promised to reorganise the security architecture is a good development that must not end at just promises, and fulfil same as soon as possible.
He said the work for a development of new national security architecture should look at devolving a centralised structure of Nigeria’s police force
Iroegbu also wants the president to re-jig the leadership of the Defence and security to bring in new vigor and strategies and continue to provide more support for the MNJTF in the Lake Chad region.
Another expert who pleaded anonymity said insecurity may worsen in 2021 noting that government is yet to clearly identify and address the real causes of insecurity ranging from banditry, insurgency, farmer-herder clashes among others across the country.
He noted that insurgents and criminals were more daring and bold in their attacks in 2020 while kidnapping for ransom became a lucrative venture causing Nigerians to feel more insecure than in previous years.
He noted that security challenges that plagued the nation in 2020 further dented the country’s image in the foreign scene and will surely scare more potential investors.
“Security is a major consideration for any investor to consider before investing in any location, no matter the human and natural resource available in Nigeria, a potential investor will reconsider places that are more peaceful in spite of these attractive factors”, he said.
He recalled that developed countries like USA, UK have at several times issued travel advisory warning their citizens to shun travelling to Nigeria describing it as a danger zone.
He warned that if government does not restrategize and rejig its security architecture, insecurity will worsen. He said this while regretting that government has continued to pay deaf ears to concerns and advice from its citizens and experts on the matter.
Ndubuisi Nwokolo, partner and Chief Executive, Nextier SPD, while alluding to the fact that farmers were worst hit, said food prices may rise by 110percent in 2021 according to a recent research conducted by Nextier, if government does not take immediate action.
He regretted that farmers were deliberately targeted by the insurgents in 2020, and Nigerians will suffer the consequences of such attacks.
“I will give you an instance, this is harvesting period for beans, yet the price of beans is high, what does that tell you?” he queried.
Nwokolo what’s government to provide deliberate security architecture for farmers just as it did for the mining sector to address the problem.
South West
A litany of abductions, killings, robberies in Oyo
Oyo state no doubt is one of the states in the country that was confronted with serious security challenges in 2020 which definitely affected residents, expatriates and businesses.
The pacesetter state had to contend with killings of innocent souls, kidnapping for ransom, highway robbery and herdsmen attacks in different parts of the state.
In Ibadan, the state capital, Oke ogun area and Ibarapa, there were high level of insecurity with attendant loss of lives and property.
These atrocities, committed by notorious beings, which started as early as possible last year, have also continued this year.
Tragedy struck last week in the neighbouring Idere community when they killed two young men and the owner of the fuel station, Serifat Adisa.
Then citizens of the state will not forget in a hurry as at January last year, the killing of Fatai Yusuf, a popular herbal medicine practitioner called Oko Oloyun.
He was shot dead by hoodlums on his way from Lagos to Iseyin where he had just opened a large business concern.
In June, last year, robbers invaded communities in the state capital, including Apete, where some students of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, reside. The robbers numbering about 20, invaded the community, robbing about 40 houses.
Apart from this, in July, 2020 dare- devil robbers attacked a new generation bank in Okeho in an 18-seater bus, injured several people, including some police officers that responded to the attack. Fortunately, the town’s vigilante group apprehended some of them while some escaped through the bush.
Also, in Akinyele Local Government Area there were series of ritual killings in which five people were sent to the great beyond.
Sunday Shodipe, an alleged mastermind of ritual killings and his cohorts, were arrested and paraded but escaped from police custody
He was re-arrested about two weeks after his escape
Late last year, a Lebanese, Hassan Mill, was rescued from his abductors. Unfortunately, a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps officer lost his life in the operation, while a soldier sustained injuries.
Not quite long, two Indians were kidnapped in front of a pharmaceutical firm near the (old) tollgate on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Likewise, a female quarry worker Damilola Agboola was abducted in the Moniya-Ojoo area of Ibadan, the state capital.
The state also witnessed the gruesome murder of Fatai Aborode, a prominent farmer in the Ibarapa area by robbers.
In October, bandits waylaid the chairman of the Iganna Local Council Development Authority, Jacob Olayiwola, kidnapped him and his driver on their way to a meeting with the governor. A ransom of N200 million was demanded for his release.
Jumoke Babalola-Oludele, a sister to one of the members of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Sunkammi Babalola, was kidnapped on Monday, 21st December last year; her abductors demanded N20million ransom.
Jumoke, who was kidnapped by three gunmen at Monatan area of Ibadan while coming from her shop, was released January 1st this year.
These and many more were what the state witnessed in the immediate past year.
Despite the huge investments in security by the present administration and the hopeful operations of the newly formed Western Nigerian Security Network known as Amotekun there are still security challenges in Oyo State which are taking a serious toll on the citizens.
Former Head of Military Intelligence and Oyo State Chairman of Western Nigerian Security Network (a.k.a. Amotekun), Gen. Kunle Togun (rtd.), has said that the insecurity in Oyo is deep; hence residents should not expect Amotekun operatives to perform magic in a month.
“The insecurity in Oyo has spread. People are just watching. But, Security is everybody’s business. People should not go to sleep because there is Amotekun. They should make information on any crime available to us. That is the role of the public,” Togun said.
According to him, “Amotekun operatives are neither magicians nor God. People should not expect insecurity in Oyo to end in one week or one month because Amotekun has been established. They are not magicians. It doesn’t work that way. Insecurity in Oyo is so extensive and it has to take time.” Lamenting insecurity in the South West and Nigeria as a whole, he urged the region’s governors to strengthen Amotekun by giving its officers more training to enhance their capacity.
The former Defence Adviser to the Benin Republic also lamented Nigeria’s security unconsciousness, noting that Benin Republic was more committed to its security.
The elder statesman also stressed the need for the Yoruba nation to put aside internal wrangling in order to achieve unity and development.
He faulted the 1999 Constitution, saying “it is not a people’s constitution.”
The National Association of Public Affairs Analysts (NAPAA) who lamented the spate of robberies and other criminal activities in Ibadan and other parts of the country called on Federal and state governments to wake up quickly to tackle the security challenges facing the nation in the hands of those terrorising the country.
According to the body, the spate of insecurity in various parts of the country, “calls for serious concern. We heard unpleasant reports of killings in Sokoto, Plateau, Benue, Ondo States, among others. Most of which were traceable to Fulani herdsmen. Reports from Igbeti and some other parts of Oke Ogun and Ibarapa areas in Oyo State also indicated attacks by Fulani herdsmen.”
They called on the government to wake up more to its responsibility of securing lives and property.
A former gubernatorial aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Olusola Ayandele, has condemned, in strong terms, what he described as a siege on Ibarapaland by some criminal elements which has culminated in the killing, maiming and kidnapping of many residents and indigenes of the area in recent times.
The Ibarapa axis of Oyo state has constantly been in the news recently over cases of unprovoked attacks by rampaging herdsmen, armed attackers and other unknown criminals who kidnap, kill and maim innocent people in many parts of the geopolitical zone especially Igangan, Idere, Tapa, Igbo-Ora and Ayete communities.
Ayandele lamented the incessant loss of lives and property owing largely to the alleged ineptitude of the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde who he called upon to act swiftly to restore peace and security in the state, particularly Ibarapa and Oke-Ogun axis.
“At the moment, nowhere is safe in the whole of Oyo state. Ibadan, the state capital is seriously bleeding as a result of hoodlum attacks on the citizenry while Ibarapaland, Oke-Ogun and Ogbomoso residents live under the fear of gunmen most of whom are identified as Fulani herdsmen who unleash terror on innocent people at will while they kidnap, kill and rob their hapless victims in the process.
“Within a space of one month, some notable indigenes of Ibarapaland have lost their lives in the hands of these devilish attackers. Early last month for example, Abdulafatai Aborode was murdered in cold blood by unknown gunmen suspected to be herdsmen in Igangan and as people were battling with the shock of his brutal assassination, tragedy struck again in the neighbouring Idere community when some satanic elements attacked a filling station where they killed two young men and the owner of the fuel station, Serifat Adisa.
“Hardly would a week pass by without at least a case of unwarranted killing or kidnapping of innocent persons in Ibarapaland in addition to the many cases of destruction of farmland and private property by Fulani herdsmen. Most people in all the towns and villages across the zone can no longer practice farming again as a result of fear of dreaded attacks in the hands of herdsmen.
“As we speak, we do not know who is being made a victim and who is next. And to make it worse, nobody is sure of an immediate end to the ugly situation since the state government is doing little or nothing to guarantee the safety of the people in their fatherland. It is on this note that we are appealing to the relevant authorities particularly Governor Makinde and all the heads of security agencies to be alive to their responsibility and restore normalcy to the area without any delay.”
A South West group, Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum, has expressed concern over unrelenting insecurity in the country.
President of the group, Akin Malaolu, stated: “Too many lives have been needlessly lost because of insufficient attention by the state and opinion leaders to insecurity. We have allowed the problems to fester like an open sore in the same way we have normalised insecurity as part of Nigerian life.”
“The South West region must pay close attention to what goes on in the forests to ensure greater security,” it stressed.
“This is the time to make it unprofitable for deviants who have made a business of killing, rape and kidnapping for ransom. We call on all people of goodwill to join hands to reclaim our country from the throes of nepotistic incompetence which most times colours our ability to objectively assess problems and situations, thereby compounding them. For Nigeria to survive, we must secure the land for commerce and social-cultural engagements,” Malolu further said.
Expectations/Solution
Many have called for arming of more policemen but it has been made clear that only the introduction of a grassroots-based policing layer can help. This has led to the call for community police or vigilante that would work with the chiefs, monarchs and community development committees (CDC) and report to the regular police.
There is also a call for a national vigilante commission to oversee the community police formations and regulate them. The successes of the Civilian JTF in the fight against the Boko Haram have fueled hopes that community police formation would be very helpful.
Cultism is said to be at the background of all this because it serves as a recruitment scheme and training wing. It firms up young boys and helps get through with killing.
