The Commandant of the Oyo State Security Network Agency popularly called Amotekun Corps, Col. Olayinka Olayanju.(retd.), disclosed on Monday that Ibarapaland has become safe for the inhabitants of the communities as it is free of killer herdsmen and kidnappers.
It will be noted that the residents of the area had expressed the concern that some killer herdsmen and kidnappers had besieged their communities alleging that the hoodlums had stopped them from accessing their farmlands.
However, the state Commandant of Amotekun in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan on Monday, said that the security matter had already been resolved.
The press release quoted Olayanju as saying that he would volunteer to lead anyone who is interested in taking a tour of parts of Ibarapaland round.
Insecurity had surged in the Ibarapa/Oke Ogun zone of the state as a result of the activities of the killer herders and kidnappers who were alleged to have committed various crimes in the area.
The statement read that most of the viral audio and video posts on social media on security situation in Ibarapa are unfounded false.
It stated that farmers as well as other inhabitants of the communities in the zone are going now going about their businesses without fear or molestation.
The statement read, “Anyone desirous of finding out the truth about the security situation in Ibarapaland contrary to the video/ audio being circulated in various forum can key into this opportunity.
“I will personally provide escorts to and from Ibadan to Igangan anytime this week. You can organise yourselves and inform me if you are interested in finding out the true position of things in Ibarapaland.
“I am in Aiyete and I have been moving around Ibarapaland freely, no one has reported any adverse security issue to me apart from isolated case involving a fulani man said to have been killed in his house in a remote village around Eruwa in Ibarapa East on Saturday by yet to be identified assailants. No security challenges observed in Ibarapa Central and North contrary to rumours been peddled.
“We are fully on the trail of those responsible for the said murder in conjunction with other security agencies and we assure all that the attackers and their motives will soon be uncovered.”
In a related development, Mr Taiwo Adisa, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State expressed worries in a statement that the spate of fake news on the security situation in Ibarapa and Oke Ogun part of the state was alarming.
The statement warned against the development reading, “Our attention has been drawn to a grand plot to precipitate unrest in Oyo State through the use of fake news in the social media. This plot seeks to promote false alarms, misinformation and sponsored fake news through audio, video and Facebook messages and it is with a view to making the state ungovernable.
“As a government, the contents of some of these audio and video releases have been investigated and mostly found to be outright falsehood, baseless claims and products of hate speech, targeted only at discrediting the government and inciting the people.
“As a proactive government, the Makinde-led administration has risen to the occasion on the issue of insecurity and we are already winning the war against criminality, with several measures rolled out to tackle kidnapping and banditry in Ibarapa and some parts of Oke-Ogun, while efforts have also been increased to tame the violent gang wars in Ibadan.”
Governor Makinde had visited Ibarapa, explaining that some gains had already been recorded from the government’s efforts on Ibarapa with community leaders testifying to weeks of respite in Ibarapa and Oke-Ogun axes.
“It will be recalled that Governor Makinde visited Ibarapa last week and he was at the hot spots of crisis, while a high-powered team comprising government delegates and the Police had visited the area and some parts of Oke-Ogun earlier.
“As part of efforts to bring a lasting solution to the security situation in Ibarapa, the government deployed 200 additional Amotekun Corps and also equipped them with four additional operational vehicles
