South-west governors consulting to ward-off bandits, terrorists, says Sanwo-Olu
This is coming on the heels of reports that bandits fleeing military operations in the north-west are migrating to the south-west.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, says he is consulting with his counterparts in Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ondo and Ekiti states to check the reported influx of terrorists and bandits into the region.
According to Punch, Gboyega Akosile, Sanwo-Olu’s spokesperson, said the governor, who is also the chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum, receives daily intelligence on the state of security in the region.
This is coming on the heels of reports that bandits fleeing military operations in the north-west are migrating to the south-west.
Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo, had recently raised concerns that “some bad elements from the north-west are relocating here due to military heat in their zones. But we will find and deal with them”.
Also, the Ogun state government said it had contacted relevant security agencies, including the military and the police.
The Department of State Services (DSS) recently arrested 10 suspected members of ISWAP in Ilesa, Osun state.
The arrest came to public knowledge when the DSS sought an order of a federal high court in Abuja to detain the suspects for 60 days, an order that Emeka Nwite, the presiding judge, granted last week Friday.
In the same vein, the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) urged all the six governors of the south-west to treat as a security emergency the building of camps inside Yoruba land forests by insurgents and terrorists fleeing the North, as it offered to help security agencies tackle the menace.
Reacting to this development, Akosile said Sanwo-Olu is prepared to handle security matters in the region, adding that he was well briefed on the issue.
“There is no empirical evidence that there are bandits in the South-West but on matters of security, you can never be over-prepared,” the governor’s aide said.
“The governor is receiving intelligence reports on different matters and he is in consultation with other governors from the south-west on how best to tackle the growing concern over security issues in the region.
“If you recall the inaugural meeting of the South-West Governors Forum, one of the major topics raised at the meeting was the security of the region, so they’ve been meeting on some of the ways to checkmate insecurity in the south-west.
“Basically, they’re studying the situation and there will be something done at the end of the day.”
