Residents protest killings, abductions in Ondo communities
Residents of Imafon, Igushin and Ilado communities in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State on Saturday staged a protest over persistent attacks and killings allegedly carried out by
Residents of Imafon, Igushin and Ilado communities in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State on Saturday staged a protest over persistent attacks and killings allegedly carried out by armed bandits.
The protesters barricaded the busy Shoprite roundabout in Alagbaka, near the Governor’s Office, to register their anger over the continued violence in their communities.
They said the recent wave of attacks has left at least two people dead and several others injured, plunging the affected areas into grief.
According to the residents, less than 24 hours after a deadly attack in Igushin that claimed the lives of a poultry farmer and her daughter, gunmen struck again in Ilado, abducting a well-known youth.
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The victim was reportedly attacked with machetes and shot in the stomach while attempting to escape from his captors.
A youth leader, who identified himself simply as Kunle, condemned what he described as unchecked gunmen activities across the state, particularly within Akure, the state capital.
He questioned the utilisation of the state’s security vote, noting that residents have yet to feel its impact despite the deteriorating security situation.
"We are protesting due to the incessant killings and kidnappings day in, day out in Imafon, Igushin and Ilado. A mother and her daughter were killed two days ago, and another young man was brutally attacked yesterday.
"We want the government to rise up to its responsibilities. We have not seen the impact of the monthly security votes in the state.
"We are tired of burying our people every week while those paid to protect us do nothing. These gunmen move freely in the state capital, yet our leaders remain silent. Where exactly is the security vote going? We see no presence of security, no patrols, no results," he said.
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Read Also: Police deploy ‘tactical team’ to Ondo communities over rising kidnappings
Kunle, however, further warned that residents would sustain the protest until the government takes decisive steps to safeguard lives and property.
Ondo state had been facing a growing wave of violent crime, particularly kidnapping of residents with attacks escalating from the rural areas to urban centres of the state.
The security challenges have continued to put both the ordinary residents and the elite on edge mostly in the Akure North Local Government Area of the state.
Last month, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa gave a marching order to security agencies to launch an immediate and coordinated "crackdown" on suspected kidnappers terrorising residents across parts of the state.
Aiyedatiwa, who spoke through his Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Hon. Idowu Ajanaku, expressed deep concern over the rising cases of abduction in the state.
The governor noted that investigations conducted by the security agencies have unraveled that some of the crimes were being orchestrated with the involvement of local collaborators.
He claimed his government was aware that certain "unscrupulous elements" are deliberately using criminal activities to portray the state as unsafe, stressing that such acts would not be tolerated.
