BY AKINWALE ABOLUWADE, IBADAN
Residents of Oyo State have decried the recurrent assaults of members of the public by security agents in the state, warning that failure to check the situation might lead to rage and breakdown of law and order.
This came on the heels of the reported killing of an apprentice at the Mokola area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Tuesday, and the assault of Sahib Oladayo Yusuff, Chairman, Ibadan North Local Government Area of the state, the following day.
Recall that an official of the NIS had reportedly slapped Oladayo just as some youths were protesting against the killing of a teenager in Ibadan. In the argument that ensued, the local government chairman was said to have been slapped while three officials of the NIS, including the Public Relations Officer of the Service, Olufemi Adetunji, were allegedly injured.
Reacting to the incidents, a businessman named Sefiu Lukman, lamented the excesses of security agents in the state, saying, “It is unfortunate that those who are employed to protect the society are the ones harming the people. It is unimaginable that a security man could be assaulting the people that they are duty-bound to protect.”
A teacher, Kemisola Adeleke, described the persistent attacks against members of the public as double jeopardy. According to her, the current state of insecurity in land required that the security operatives measured up by protecting the people.
“However, it is unfortunate that those who are put in our care are the ones killing our people and assaulting many others. You will recall the killings by officers of the Nigeria Customs Service the other day in Ibarapa. It happened not once and not twice. Also, recall that the Customs men from the federal zone breezed into the Bodija Market, Ibadan, one midnight few months ago, carting away bags of imported rice. This is not expected in a civilized society.
“Again, we heard of the recent killing of a teenager at Mokola area of Ibadan. As the aggrieved youths were protesting, a council chairman was said to have been slapped by an NIS official. Is this a Banana Republic where there is breakdown of law and order or are we experiencing Thomas Hubb’s state of insecurity where life is short, nasty and brutish?
“This is double jeopardy for the citizens. This is because while the people lament the declining insecurity in the land, they are also endangered by the actions of the overzealous security operatives who brutalize and kill innocent members of the public. This, to say the least, is barbaric and nasty.”
Meanwhile, as things stand, the elected council chairmen in the state, under the aegis of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, had insisted that the NIS offices in their various councils across the state should be relocated outside the Councils so as to curb crisis.
Sikiru Sanda, Chairman, Egbeda Local Government, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said that the group condemned, in its entirety, the assault, molestation and harassment of the Ibadan North Local Government Chairman, Sahib Yusuff, who sustained multiple injuries during the crisis.
