.Afenifere hails OPC, tackles police
.Police detain 3 of my men for arresting Wakilu –OPC leader
A joint team of Ibarapa security operatives, including Oodua Peoples Congress, Vigilante, and other groups have arrested the notorious Fulani warlord terrorising Oyo communities, Iskilu Wakili.
It was gathered that Wakili was arrested after several attempts resulting in a gun battle.
There had been reports that Wakili and his gang were involved in the killings and kidnapping of several people in Ibarapa, Oke Ogun, Oyo State.
Wakili was nabbed barely seven days after his second-in-command, Isiaka Muhammadu, was arrested alongside four others.
The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, confirmed Wakili’s arrest in a statement made available to news men by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Aderemi, on Sunday.
Adams said the Fulani warlord was arrested around 7 am on Sunday and had been handed over to the Divisional Police Office in Igbo Ora, Oyo State.
The statement was titled, “Insecurity: Gani Adams applauds OPC, Ibarapa joint security team over arrest of Kidnap kingpin Wakilu, three others in Ibarapa’.
The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland described Wakili as the ‘most-dreaded, notorious kidnap kingpin’ who has operated in Oyo State.
Adams said, “I am happy that the notorious kidnapper had been captured alongside three others. It is a good development and a positive signal to other criminal elements that the South-West is no longer an abode for bandits, kidnappers, and criminal herders.
“I commend all the members of the joint security team that has made this possible because with the video at my disposal, it was purely a neat job.
“With this development, I think the whole world will agree with me that the fight against insurgency, kidnapping, and banditry needs native intelligence, information gathering, and grassroots support from local securities and operatives.
“As I have said earlier that the effort to rid the South-West of bandits and kidnappers was to complement the efforts of the police and in doing that, it is also very important for the police to support the local security operatives because they are always at the grassroots and they have their ears to the ground on local security matters.”
Wakili’s arrest: Afenifere hails OPC, tackles police
Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, on Sunday, commended the Oodua Peoples Congress under the leadership of Aare Gani Adams for the arrest of Iskilu Wakili, a Fulani bandit, in Oyo State.
The National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, made the commendation in a statement on Sunday.
He said, “Afenifere gives tremendous commendation to OPC under Iba Gani Adams for the arrest of Iskilu Wakili, a Fulani bandit who has been spreading terror on our people in Ibarapa area and the Nigerian Police and other security agencies unable to do anything about him.
“The early morning peaceful arrest confirms our position on how effective local initiative can do well in homeland security.
“We were not shocked that but for the intervention by the leadership in Oyo State, the Police would have gone after the OPC boys instead of taking the criminal from them and do the needful.
“Nigeria is going nowhere with a security network that shuns federalism.”
Police detain three of my men for arresting Fulani warlord, Iskilu Wakilu –OPC leader
The Oodua Peoples Congress, on Sunday, said the men of Nigeria Police Force in the Oyo State detained three OPC operatives for arresting notorious Fulani warlord Iskilu Wakili, who has been accused of sundry crimes in the Ayete area of Ibarapaland in the state.
It would be recalled that farmers and residents of Ayete lived in perpetual fear of Wakili who was accused of displacing them from their farms.
It was gathered that Wakili, who is said to be the leader of the herdsmen in Ayete worked with dozens of herders who are his disciples. Together with his battalion, they allegedly seized hectares of farmlands at Ayete, raped the women in the rustic town, and kidnapped their rich men for ransom.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH on Sunday, Adedeji Oluwole, the OPC sector coordinator who led his operatives and other vigilante groups to arrest Wakili, said the suspect was nabbed on Sunday morning.
Oluwole, the Federal Capital Territory OPC coordinator, who is also an indigene of Igboora, said he relocated four months ago to Ayete to bring Wakili to book after security agencies failed to arrest him.
The OPC leader said it took over four days of continued operations and surveillance to nab Wakili and three of his accomplices.
According to Oluwole, more than 10 OPC operatives went on the mission. He said Wakili’s men shot fiercely at the OPC operatives before they were eventually nabbed.
He, however, expressed shock that the police detained three of his men after they handed over Wakili.
“My men are still in police custody now,” Oluwole said on Sunday afternoon.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State, Olugbenga Fadeyi, did not respond to calls put to his line. A text message sent to his phone was also not replied to as of the time of filing this report.
Killing of farmers: Fayemi vows to arrest ‘all criminals involved’
Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has visited family members of two farmers allegedly killed by herdsmen on the farms.
Fayemi said: “Yesterday, two of our farmers from Isaba Ekiti, Mr Toyin Akeju known locally as Jisoro and Mr Yusuf Onuche, were found dead on the farms with wounds from gun shots suspected to have been fired by Bororo herdsmen. This, understandably, generated a lot of anger in the community.”
“This morning, I visited the families of the deceased in the community. In offering commiserations of the government and all our people, I reassured them that we will get to the bottom of this sad occurrence and bring all the criminals involved to book.”
Akin Omole, reads: “The Government of Ekiti State regrets the gruesome killing of two farmers in Isaba-Ekiti, Ikole Local Government. The dear departed are reported to have been industrious family men and community leaders who were popular and well loved by the community. They were identified as Toyin Akeju a.k.a. Jisoro, and Mr. Yusuf Onoche a.k.a. Baba Owala. They did not deserve the fate that befell them.
“We empathise with the Asaba of Isaba-Ekiti, HRH Oba Olanrewaju Oluwaseun Adeyanju, the families of our slain kinsmen, and the entire people of Isaba-Ekiti on this tragic occurrence, which has understandably led to demonstrations in protest of the killings.
“We appeal to the community for calm even when justifiably grieving and angry, and count on their cooperation with the security agencies in the investigations.
“The deeply worrisome development is being investigated by the Ekiti State Command of the Nigeria Police Force, in collaboration with the Amotekun Corps in Ekiti, with a view to bringing the culprits to book and forestalling a reoccurrence. The Government of Ekiti state is fully supporting the security agencies in this regard.
“In a demonstration of empathy and association with the community’s grief, Governor Fayemi paid an early Sunday morning visit to the community during which he said, “Every life in Ekiti is sacred, and by the grace of God, the sincere commitment of the Government of Ekiti state to the protection of lives and property, and the cooperation of our people, justice will be done. We stand by you and will do all it takes as a government to bring the culprits to book, and ensure Ekiti is safe and secure”.
