Categories: News

Oyo: Arrest Those Behind Planned Fulani Eviction, Makinde Tells Police

Governor Seyi Makinde

Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo state, says he will not stand idly and watch ‘criminals’ plunge the state into needless crisis under the pretext of advancing the Yoruba cause.

Ekohotblog reports that the governor said this when he played host to Ngozi Onadeko, the new commissioner of police in the state, at the state house on Friday.

Makinde implored the police to apprehend those behind the call for ejection of Fulani herders and Hausas from the state.

Sunday Adeyemo, a Yoruba activist better known as Sunday Igboho, had given a seven-day ultimatum to herders to vacate Igangan in Ibarapa north local government area of Oyo state, over rising insecurity.

He had accused herders for being behind the high rate of kidnap and attacks in the area.

Speaking with the police commissioner, Makinde said the ultimatum amount to fanning embers of ethnic tension, adding that those behind it are criminals and should be treated as such when arrested.

He noted that the welfare of all those living in the state is the priority of his administration.

“For people stoking ethnic tension, they are criminals and once you get them, they should be arrested and treated like common criminals,” he said.

He noted that his focus is security, because it would be practically impossible to implement the economic plans of his administration if the state is ravaged by violence and insecurity.

“So, when people say things that are neither lawful nor within the spirit of Nigeria’s Constitution, it is not acceptable here. And they cannot hide under the guise of protecting Yoruba’s interest to perpetuate chaos in the state.

“I am sure that since you came in, you must have heard about some things happening at Ibarapa axis of the state. I will still say it here that we are not after Hausa-Fulani. We are after criminals.

“We are after hoodlums and bandits irrespective of their tribe, religion, or creed. Those are the people we are after. If you look into the records, when we had the armed robbery incident at Okeho in Kajola Local Government Area of the state, some people were killed, some were arrested and we found out that they were from Ebira, from Kogi State. So, we want to go after the criminals – whether they are Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani or whoever they are.”