By Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has lamented the spate of suspected assassinations in the state in the last four days, saying the development was not unconnected with lax security measures short of political will to protect residents from avoidable deaths.
Within the last four days, three men, including a police officer, had lost their lives in circumstances believed to be assassinations.
A Superintendent of Police (SP), Idowu Taiwo, was on Sunday night killed and abandoned in his car handcuffed after three gunmen abducted him at a relaxation joint along Ikere-Ado road in the state capital.
On Monday, Kunle Enisan, an engineer, was also abducted on his way home along Afao-Ado road, Ado-Ekiti. His dead body was found Tuesday morning, sparking anger and outrage that shook the state capital.
Earlier on Saturday, Wale Adeniyi, a graduate entrepreneur in Ikere-Ekiti, was found dead along Iju-Ikere road after an encounter with gunmen.
Reacting in a statement in Ado-Ekiti by Publicity Secretary, Taiwo
Olatunbosun, the party lamented the sudden upsurge in the murders of residents, blaming lack of adequate security measures for the sad incidents.
He said: “It is regrettable that while Ekiti people thought that the era of assassinations was over, a trend never witnessed in the crime record of the state suddenly emerged in the last four days.
“Within three days, three people were murdered by assailants without any trace of their movements or suspicion of their motives for carrying out such murderous activities and it is regrettable that up till now, security agencies don’t seem to have any clue to the causes of the incidents.”
Blaming the situation on inadequate security and lack of political will to secure the lives and property of the residents, Olatunbosun said: “We have always cried out on the misplacement of priorities by Governor Ayodele Fayose in his administration’s policy.
“We once cried out over the governor’s refusal to fund security agencies to enable them perform optimally to secure the lives and property of the people.
“Police operation vehicles are in bad shapes while at times, police lack fuel for their operation vehicles while there is no motivation for the officers and men of the Police Force to do their jobs. “From information available to us, Governor Fayose has not spent one naira to strengthen security of the state in the last six months while refusing to help in keeping security gadgets in shape to enable the police function effectively. “For instance, the multi-million naira Police Crime Detection/Tracking Device facility inaugurated by former Governor Kayode Fayemi at the State Police Headquarters in Ado-Ekiti has collapsed and all entreaties to Fayose to provide funds to put the machine in shape fell on deaf ears. “If that machine is working, a call to the Control Room will guide security agents on the location of the crime and nip it in the bud like was the case during Fayemi’s administration when there was never reports of assassination.”
He added: “Fayose provides streetlights between 7pm and 10pm everyday and sometimes shorter periods over excuses of lack of money to procure diesel to power the streetlights, yet the governor always claims to spend N210m on diesel monthly while the actual figure of supply as obtained from NUPENG suppliers indicates that only N7m worth of diesel is supplied monthly to power the streetlights, yet the governor collects N250m monthly as security vote and we wonder which security he maintains with N250m monthly while criminals have taken over the state to kill and harass helpless residents.” Security agencies, Ekiti State Government and the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) have resolved to crack down on criminal elements within the ranks of herdsmen in the state. This is just as the police have spread their dragnet to arrest a herdsman, simply identified as Dogo, who has been indicted over some criminal acts in the Northern part of Ekiti State. The resolution followed a series of meetings held by the stakeholders at the Government House, Ado-Ekiti. The meeting was as a result of a resurgence in criminal activities by people suspected to be unidentified herdsmen in Irele, Oke Ako, Ikole, Ijan, Ikere and Ise areas of the state.
