The pan-Yoruba socio-political organization – Afenifere – has condemned the recent wave of terrorists’ incursions in the South West, urging governments and security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue the region from banditry.
Afenifere National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, in a statement on Saturday, highlighted the Yoruba people’s alarm over the near-daily erosion of human life across several states.
They cited the barbaric treatment often meted out to kidnap, lamenting that they are usually beaten merciless and subjected to humiliation.
Ajayi referenced multiple incidents, including attacks on churches, police stations, residential homes, and highways in Ondo State; the sacking of communities in Kwara; killings of farmers and attacks on travelers along the Igbeti-Kisi road in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State; and the gruesome kidnappings in Ekiti State, where victims were killed and their corpses held for ransom.
“The greatest demonstration of the heartlessness of these evil-doers was their demands of N1.5 million, Indian hemp, cocaine, a synthetic drug known as ICE, and cartons of canned beer for the release of a corpse in their captivity.”
“The kidnappers even hilariously asked for virgins to be brought in exchange for four men that they had previously abducted,” Ajayi said.
He added: “Until recently, the home environment was considered a ‘safe haven’. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. A couple was attacked in front of their home in Akure, Ondo State, with the husband shot while trying to prevent his wife from being abducted.”
Nonetheless, Afenifere commended President Bola Tinubu for his determination to establish State Police, citing his call on the National Assembly to expedite constitutional amendments for their immediate take-off.
The organisation reiterated its call for South West governors to implement measures to raid bandit hideouts, maintain constant surveillance of vulnerable areas, and cooperate fully with the Federal Government to ensure the prompt establishment of state police in their states.