Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State
Media reports have it that there was uproar on Monday in Idiyan, Ibarapa area of Oyo State, following the killing of four men by suspected loyalists of Iskilu Wakilin, who was on Sunday apprehended by members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) and handed over to the police. Wakilin is allaged to be behind series of kidnappings, killings and raiding on farmlands in the area.
The victims were allegedly hacked to death around 2:00a.m. in their homes. Two of them were said to be members of a local vigilance group. Confirming the killings, Oyo State Police spokesman Olugbenga Fadeyi, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), said their bodies were deposited at Fadok Hospital morgue for autopsy.
He said: “It was reliably gathered that unknown gunmen attacked and killed four men at Kokobido village, Diko Ile, near Ijio, at about 0300 hrs of today. Efforts intensified to arrest the perpetrators of the crime.”
OPC leader Gani Adams, the Aare Ona Kankanfo of Yorubaland, condemned the murder, saying the audio and pictorial evidence at his disposal indicated that the killers had been terrorising and kidnapping people in the area. He also condemned the arrest of OPC members involved in the apprehension of the kidnap suspect by the police. Adams said the arrest was unfortunate, recalling that major breakthroughs recorded by the police in Oyo State were through the cooperation of the local security outfits, including OPC and the vigilante groups.
According to the OPC leader, the group had contacted its lawyers to determine the way forward. Also, yesterday, Governor Seyi Makinde demanded an update from Commissioner of Police Ngozi Onadeko on the security situation in Kajola, Ibarapa North Local Government Area.
The governor, who said there would be no miscarriage of justice, said that culprits, irrespective of ethnic background or religion, will be dealt with in accordance with the law. Makinde spoke at the Government House during the presentation of textbooks to secondary pupils.
