Governors in the South-West region are seriously considering setting up joint patrols by security agencies to rid the area of kidnappers who have made life unbearable for the residents.
The state governors are also planning more logistics support for security agents, including the military, the police, Amotekun, vigilantes and local hunters, among others, to tackle the resurgence of kidnapping and killings in the region.
The region, known to be peaceful in the past, has become a hotbed for kidnappers and other criminals.
A few days ago, gunmen killed two Ekiti monarchs – the Onimojo of Imojo, Oba Olatunde Olusola, and the Elesun of Esun Ekiti, Oba Babatunde Ogunsakin, while the Alara of Ara Ekiti, Oba Adebayo Fatoba, narrowly escaped.
The traditional rulers were returning from a security meeting in Kogi State when they ran into an ambush mounted by the kidnappers who were operating on the highway between Ipao and Oke Ako in the Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
Also, in the same area, kidnappers attacked a school bus and whisked away five pupils of the Apostolic Faith Group of Schools, three teachers, and the bus driver.
A few days earlier, the chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, Philip Aivoji, was abducted by some yet-to-identified gunmen along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Although Aivoji was released four days later, several others are not that lucky to come out unhurt.
Reacting to this, the Chief Press Secretary to the Oyo State Governor, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, said although he could not speak for all the governors in the region, Governor Seyi Makinde’s government was beefing up security in every area in the state.
He said, “That is why, recently, the government gave out vehicles to the security agencies in the state to ensure that they can operate without any problem. Apart from giving out vehicles, they also got communication gadgets.
“The vehicles are being fuelled by the state, and the essence is for them to be able to cover all parts of the state.
“Because of the government’s pro-activeness, incidents of kidnapping are low in the state and we intend to improve on this. The special adviser to the governor on security and his team regularly meet with the team in Ogun State. They meet regularly and they discuss strategies to checkmate the security threat that may occur.”
