A former Governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, has decried Saturday’s attack and killings in Igangan area of the state, saying it is barbaric and unwarranted.
Alao-Akala said that the attack, leading to killings and wanton destruction of property in the area, called for serious re-introspection by the state government.
In a statement by his Media Assistant, Tolu Mustapha, on Monday in Ibadan, he said that the unwarranted killings called to question the fate of other citizens spread across other zones in the state.
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The Police Command in the state had on Sunday confirmed the death of 11 people in Saturday’s night attack in Igangan Community, a town in Ibarapa North Local Government Area.
The suspected gunmen had invaded the town on Saturday around 11:10 p.m on motorcycles, and allegedly opened fire on innocents citizens and burnt some property.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, DSP Adewale Osifeso, had said in a statement that a total of 11 people, including some of the assailants, were confirmed dead in the incident.
The former governor, who retired as Assistant Commissioner of Police, is the Aare Asoludero of Ibarapa land.
Alao-Akala said that the issue of insecurity had gone beyond ethnic profiling, calling for the deployment of security intelligence strategy.
The former governor said that such needed deployment was necessary to unravel the root cause of the recurring security breach, to ensure it was totally nipped in the bud.
Alao-Akala, however, called on the state government to, as a matter of urgency, re-gig its internal security arrangement to meet up with this emergency.
“All security agencies, both uniformed and non uniformed, should deploy all their intelligence network into this critical assignment. Engagement of all stakeholders should not be overlooked,” he advised.
The former governor said that available intelligence report had revealed a breakdown of communication and working relationship between the security agents and the state government.
He urged the governor to look inward, do the needful, correct lapses where necessary and put a permanent stop to the avoidable carnage.
Alao-Akala also urged the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, wade in, saying, “Oyo State is a strategic focal point that must not be allowed to go up in flames”.(NAN)