GOVERNOR of Oyo State Seyi Makinde has appealed to residents of Igangan community of Ibarapa Local Government Area in the state not to take laws into their hands.
He said this at a visit to the community after an attack that killed some residents on Sunday.
A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to Oyo Governor Taiwo Adisa on Tuesday quoted Makinde as appealing to the residents for calm, while promising government action.
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“Please, don’t take laws into your hands. I urge all the families that lost their loved ones to this attack because sometimes, emotion can really be high.
“Once again, I beg of you; give us the opportunity to come back and rebuild things, and put a more solid architecture such that you will be able to go to farms and do whatever you want to do without fear,” he said.
He also urged the residents to give the state government another chance to fix the insecurity and recurring attacks on farmers.
Makinde promised the residents that such bad occurrences would never happen again in Igangan or anywhere in the state.
“It is not a situation where there is any magic we can do. We have to work through this and work together through it but I promise you, this is the last time anything like this will ever happen here.
“It is a promise I am making to you, and it is a promise I will come through with,” he stated.
Following the attack on Sunday, South-West governors had directed the Western Nigeria Security Network, code-named Operation Amotekun, to call for a meeting in view of a joint operation across six states in the region.
No fewer than six persons were killed on Sunday morning when some herdsmen attacked the community. Makinde condoled with the families who lost their loved ones during the attack.
For many years, residents of the Igangan community have lived in fear of attacks orchestrated by violent herders residing in the state.
A suspected Fulani man Iskilu Wakili was recently apprehended by members of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) in Igangan for fuelling attacks on residents of the agrarian community.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94