Owo attack: Edo allays fears of attack

The Edo State government has allayed the fears of residents over a replica of attacks in the state by suspected terrorists due to its proximity to neighbouring states that have recently witnessed such attacks.

The anxiety is sparked by last Sunday’s killing of Catholic worshippers by gunmen in Owo, Ondo State, a town less than two hours’ drive to Benin City. Recently, Kogi State, which borders Edo State to the south, also encountered an explosion purportedly caused by a bomb blast.

These occurrences have sent shivers down the spines of Edo residents who have raised concerns over the safety of their lives, livelihoods and property.

Paul Osaigbovo, a Benin resident, urged the government to go beyond condemning the attacks, and take prompt actions, measures and mobilise all resources at their disposal to forestall further onslaught with a view to stopping gunmen infiltration into Edo state, adding that “No one knows when they will come knocking at our doors.”

But, Omololu Ojehomon, Edo State commissioner for public security and safety, said the state government was actively engaged with the security situations across the country and has put measures in place to avert such scenario from happening in Edo.

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“We saw the video and we are very aware of the attack. We are not sleeping, we are working and we are not making noise about it. But, citizens should be assured that Edo State government is doing everything and working very hard to prevent such attacks from happening in Edo State,” Ojehomon said.

Ojehomon, in an interview with BusinessDay on Monday, hinted that beside concerted efforts by the state government and the security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, to improve security, the Obaseki-led government is making sure criminals are prosecuted so as to serve as a deterrent and discourage prospective perpetrators from committing crimes.

“It is not just about the security agencies, we are looking at correctional centres, reforms in different institutions that can build and nurture these young generations into better persons. That is the only way you can curb crime. We must engage them. A lot of the issues are because of disconnection between these young generations with their parents and guardians,” she said.

Highlighting some of the state government’s achievements, she said “If you notice, the month of March was a difficult time for us in Edo State but since April, we have witnessed a drop in crime rates, especially major crimes. In the past three months, we have had reduced robbery and kidnapping incidents. Those are the two major ones we have been experiencing. Also, we have had reduced bandit attacks.

“We have been working hard and are proactive on the matter. We did not sit aside. It took many man-hours to talk to individuals and that information was put together in order to get the sequence of how these things had happened to be able to monitor the route of these crimes. Once we got a map put together, we were able to put it out to the security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force and they have been reacting to it,” she added.