Arrest of terrorist in Ogun: Monarch urges Southwest Governors to brace up

Bankole Taiwo, Abeokuta

A traditional ruler in Ogun State, Olu of Lisa kingdom in Ado-Odo/Ota local government, Oba Najeemdeen Odugbemi has said that the Southwest Governors must step up efforts to fight insecurity in the region.

Oba Najeemdeen Odugbemi gave the charge while reacting to the report of suspected Boko Haram commander arrested recently by the operatives of Department of State Security (DSS) in Abeokuta, Ogun state.

The royal father said that the arrested Boko Haram suspect by the DSS in Ijaye area of Abeokuta, the state capital according to the report was a bad signal that the entire south west states had been surrounded by these terrorists.            He emphasised that for the suspected terrorist leader to have come in from Katsina State and take up a security job to act as cover up while coordinating kidnapping and terror attacks portends danger for the people of Ogun state and Southwest states in general.

Oba Odugbemi, who is also the Grand Patron of Ogun NUJ, called on various state governments to step up their security architecture in the south west states aimed at protecting life and property of the ordinary common man against the insecurity occasioned by these terrorists.

The traditional ruler also implored the south west governors to work immediately on the information given by Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Otunba Gani Adams on the planned attacks by the terrorists in the south west to nip it in the bud.

While commending members of the fourth estate of the realm for being alive to their constitutional responsibilities, the monarch urged them to also ensure they do further investigative reporting on issues using this arrested Boko Haram suspect as a litmus test so as to get to the root of the matter.

Oba Odugbemi stressed that media practitioners should see their profession as not only reporting outcome of an incident alone but dig into such incident to a logical conclusion so that it will not be swept under the carpet for the betterment of the country.