Ekiti Government Takes Decisive Steps To Curtail Criminal Activities

Ekiti government takes decisive steps to curtail criminal activities

• Threaten to sanction communities, individual habouring criminals

Any building, farmland or property habouring criminals or discovered to be used for criminal activities in Ekiti State will henceforth be confiscated or demolished by the government, while owners of such properties would be sanctioned heavily and treated as collaborators.

Ekiti State government made this known at a meeting with the traditional rulers and the leaders of some ethnic groups from outside Ekiti State dwelling in areas noted as hideout for kidnappers in the state.

The meeting which was held in the office of the Deputy Governor was attended by the representative of the Commissioner of Police, Director of State Security Services in Ekiti State, Secretary to the State Government, the Chief of Staff to the Governor and other top government functionaries.

The Deputy Governor, Dr. Kolapo Olusola frowned at the spate of kidnapping in Ekiti State which he noted was adjudged the most peaceful and with lowest crime rate in Nigeria before now.

Dr. Olusola who said that kidnapping and some other criminal activities that are becoming rampart in the state were very alien to Ekiti, opined that those kidnappers would not have been successful in their operations if there had not been collaborators in those communities, hence the need to urgently address the issues before it grew out of hands.

He called on the traditional rulers whose domain has been identified as flash points of kidnapping hideouts to hold meetings with their subjects and other ethnic groups living in their community to be vigilant and report immediately any suspicious movement in their areas to security agents before the criminals carry out their nefarious act.

The Deputy Governor who also disclosed that Rev Father Emmanuel Akingbade who was kidnapped last week at Ido-Ekiti has been released commended the efforts of the security agents in securing his release without the payment of any ransom.

He charged leaders of the various ethnic groups from outside the state to caution their kinsmen living in those areas and in Ekiti State generally to be careful and not harbor any criminal because most of the suspects arrested over the kidnap saga so far are non Ekiti state indigents.

“Everybody should join hands with the government and security agents to curtail this ugly trend that has thrown the state into panic and anybody found to be collaborating with those criminals in any way, either by harboring them on the farmland, at home or anywhere would be dealt with decisively”.

He told Ekiti people not to panic but be security conscious with the assurance that the government and the security agents are on top of the situation and that all the criminals and collaborators would be completely chased out of Ekiti.

The representative of the Commissioner of Police, Mr. AbdulKadir Mohammed and the Director of the State Security Services, Mr. M. C. Odika also commended the cooperation of the government and the people so far but called for more timely information from the people.

The security top ranks who said people should go about their lawful business without any panic assured that the police will be relentless and work round the clock to ensure that peace and security are restored in Ekiti.

Elesure of Esure-Ekiti, Oba Adebanji Ajibola and the Olugbole of Igbole-Ekiti, Oba Emmanuel Adetiloye, who in their separate remarks explained their various personal efforts and that of their communities to assist the security agents, noted that security officers need to be more pro-active and respond more quickly to distress calls.

Ekiti State Government Press Release