Youths from various parts of Oyo State have stormed the State Secretariat at Agodi to register their displeasure against the incessant killings by criminal herdsmen in Ibarapaland, Oke-Ogun, and other parts of the state.
The youths are also protesting the arrest and the remand of three members of the Oodua Peoples Congress in prison on the order of the court.
The three members were part of the vigilante groups that captured the dreaded Fulani herder in Ibarapaland, Iskilu Wakili. They were later charged with murder and arson and were remanded in prison.
The protesters, who are mainly from Ibarapaland stormed the Secretariat where the Governor’s Office is located at around 10:40 am to register their displeasure about security issues in the area.
Armed with placards with various inscriptions denouncing killings, kidnapping, rape, and massive destruction of farms and other atrocities.
One of the organizers of the protest, Oladiran Oladokun, who is also the Converter of Igangan Development Advocates, told reporters on the sidelines of the protest that the arraignment and remand of the three OPC members was a signal to many Nigerians that security agents should be left alone to do their job.
He said Wakili terrorized the people for so long and despite their refusal to arrest him, the OPC members and others risked their lives to arrest the septuagenarian herder but they detained by the police on the same day.
Oladokun said, “We are here to protest the arrest and remand of the three OPC members in prison. These men are heroes, they risked their lives to arrest Wakili who has terrorized the people of Kajola, Ayete, and other villages.
“They went to Wakili’s place and arrested him but the police turned against them and detained them. This is a bad signal to Nigerians on security issues.”
Recall that there has been growing insecurity in Ibarapaland where suspected Fulani herdsmen have killed, raped, and kidnapped farmers and other residents.
