Again, Ooni Cautions against Killings in Yorubaland

Again, Ooni Cautions against Killings in Yorubaland

 Murder of Fasoranti’s daughter could lead to anarchy, Ohanaeze warns  •Group wants South-west govs to deal with insecurity

Christopher Isiguzo, Gideon Arinze in Enugu, Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

Following the killing of Mrs. Funke Olukunri, the daughter of Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has restated that the South-west will no longer tolerate any form of carnage by suspected herdsmen.

This is coming as the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday in Enugu lamented that the gruesome murder of Olukunri, daughter of Fasoranti, has the capacity of plunging the country into uncontrollable breakdown of law and order.

Also, the vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23 presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi, has said the senseless bloodletting in the country is clearly getting out of hand.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Ekiti State Students Union has also decried the spate of killings and other violent crimes in the country, saying enough is enough, and that the time to act is now.

The Ife monarch had earlier given a similar warning in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, last week during a stakeholders’ meeting to ruminate on the level of insecurity in the South-west region.

The Ooni said it was time the region united and defended itself against bandits, who are now killing people.

Oba Ogunwusi stated this in Kota Ekiti, Ekiti East Local Government Area of Ekiti State at the Thanksgiving ceremony of a member of the House of Representatives representing Ekiti South federal constituency 2, Hon. Olufemi Bamisile.

The traditional ruler said the Yoruba people could no longer fold their arms and allow their people to be killed.

He called on the Yoruba people to be united at this time and protect their territory.

“I call on all the people of Yoruba race at this time to be united. The time has come to end this killing. These killings must end, enough is enough!” Ooni said.

Also in his sermon, Reverend Emmanuel Abejide of Methodist Church of Nigeria, Ekiti State, declared that the current security situation in the country was unfortunate.

He warned that unless the leaders put their thinking cap, things might get worse.

Bamisile, on his part, said the various stakeholders in the Southwest are already talking, adding that the region would defend itself appropriately.

According to him, “The death of Pa Fashoranti’s daughter is one of the greatest mistakes that ever happened in the Southwest. With the step that we are taking, we are moving ahead to stop the killings.”

Reacting to the mindless murder of Mrs. Olakunrin, former Governor of Anambra State, Obi, in a statement by his media office, said Nigerians of all spheres are losing their safety cheaply.

Obi, who had already called the father of the deceased to condole with him, said the value of life in the country is diminishing everyday, adding that that should worry every discerning mind.

The former governor, who prayed for the repose of the souls of all who lost their lives in the senseless killings either from herdsmen or armed robbers, challenged relevant authorities to stem ‘these frightening’ tides.

On its part, Ohanaeze said the gruesome murder of Olukunri had the capacity of plunging the country into uncontrollable breakdown of law and order.

The organisation warned that the continuous rampaging, plunder, rape, kidnapping and murder of innocent Nigerians allegedly by armed Fulani herdsmen have climbed to a most worrisome crescendo.

The President General of the organisation, Chief Nnia Nwodo, who conveyed the Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s position in a statement made available to journalists in Enugu, also stressed the need for the convocation of a security summit to quickly find a way out of the security challenge confronting the country.

The organisation also noted that the hasty conclusion by the federal government that she was killed by armed robbers and not suspected herdsmen, who are known to have laid siege on all parts of the country perpetrating acts of banditry and killings, further exacerbates the already tense situation.

“We offer Chief Fasoranti and the entire Yoruba the heartfelt sympathies of Ndigbo,” he said.

He noted further that the organisation regretted the inability of security forces to disarm and prosecute these criminals, insisting that it gives credibility to a growing story of collusion between the forces and the herdsmen.

“Recently, the British High Commission, in an advisory to British citizens in Nigeria, declared 24 of our states unsafe.

“In the midst of these killings, their parent organisation has the effrontery to give ultimatums to the President of Nigeria to rescind his unpopular suspension, instead of cancelation of his RUGA development policy,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Ekiti State Students’ Union has decried the spate of killings and other violent crimes in the country, saying ‘enough is enough’ and that the time to act is now.

In a statement issued by its National Senate President, Kolade Ifeoluwa, in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, the group said that government should without further delay do what was necessary to deal with insecurity in the country.

”The safety of citizens of this country should be placed above any other issue,” the group stated.

The students were reacting to the killing of Olakunrin last Friday.

It described her murder by yet-to-be identified gunmen as one too many, saying the incident reflects the seriousness of the insecurity in the country, especially in the South-west region.

The students’ group therefore asked the Southwest governors and the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Gani Adams, to stand up for the region before the situation gets out of hand.

“We are being made to see the situation and having the impression that the government is incompetent, and area saying with a bleeding heart that the problem is unacceptable to us and Nigerian students in general.

“We are therefore calling on the government at all levels to wake up and urgently take action to protect lives and property in the country,’’ the group stated.

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