The Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olayide Adelami, has urged the people of the Owo community, where cult clashes have recently taken place, to provide the security agencies with useful information so they can apprehend the perpetrators.
In the Owo community, the headquarters of the state’s Owo Local Government Area, a fight between two rival cult groups killed at least four people on Monday, and another man, identified as Nasiru Isiaka, was killed a few days later.
In response, the state police command reported that it had arrested 19 people in connection with the incident, and the government enforced a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the community to prevent further law and order collapse in the historic town.
Speaking at the security summit hosted in the community on Sunday by the Owo Youths Forum, Adelami condemned the recent deaths in the area and warned that if immediate action is not taken to stop them, the development might bring the community into disrepute.
In order to handle the problem and bring peace back to the community, the deputy governor, who was represented by his chief of staff, Dr. Kola Falohun, asked the public to provide the security services with accurate information.
He said, “Police and other security agencies are not spirits; you need to inform them. If we must move forward, all hands must be on deck. Youths should retrain themselves; we should not pull ourselves down.
“We now know where we are going. Solutions have been suggested. We believe that by the time we do the main stakeholders’ meeting that will be organised by the office of the deputy governor soon, we will make headway.
“These boys are actually not bad; only we are not engaging them. They are our brothers and sisters. We will engage them and know if there are grievances and empower them because lack of a job is a major flashpoint.”
Speaking, Odunayo Folahanmi, a forum member, claimed that politicians were responsible for the town’s crisis by arming young people with lethal weapons so they could serve as political goons.
“It is evident that politicians are the ones engaging the cultists. We invited them as well as others, but you could even see for yourselves that the political leaders are not here except the deputy governor, who is represented by the chief of staff.
“We have to start getting it right from our political class, and we have to start making sure that things are right. We even have privy information from the police that whenever these people are arrested, political leaders will come and rescue them,” he said.
In a similar vein, Mr. Adenike Peter, the police area commander in Owo, said that the cultists were flourishing in the town because politicians and powerful individuals were interfering with police operations when suspects were being detained.
“Many a time, when we arrest these miscreants, politicians will start calling, saying he is my brother; we should release them. So, this is one of the major problems we have. Also, parents should checkmate their children and even report them to the police for action if found culpable of criminal tendencies.
“Members of the public should also give us useful information because we are not ghosts. We will work on the information given to us. These people live in our midst,” the police boss stated.
Speaking at the conference, Damilare Aina, one of the organizers, further clarified that the meeting’s purpose was to generate ideas for resolving the issues and restoring calm to the historic town.
He asserted that it was well known that politicians would take advantage of young people, particularly the idle ones, for their own political ends and then desert them.
According to Aina, teaching the kids and maintaining peace in the region would be greatly aided by the ongoing involvement of all parties involved.