BY AKINWALE ABOLUWADE, IBADAN
Regular travelers on Ibadan-Ijebu Ode Road have called on the federal and Oyo State governments to put an end to on the constant cases of kidnapping and armed robbery incidents on the route.
Users of the road said travelers were under constant treat of attacks on the road, Describing the activities of kidnappers and armed robbers as ‘a gruesome nightmare,’ a motorist identified as Oredola said he no longer felt safe travelling on the road due to the security situation.
A commercial driver, Semiu Ibrahim, said he had had to fortify himself with charms and prayers, “because safety is no longer guaranteed on the road.”
He recalled that the attacks on users of the road had become a daily occurrence.
Both men recalled that three female travellers known as Theresa Okeowo, Abosede Adebayo and Bola Ogunrinde, were kidnapped on the road on Monday, April 12, 2021
They were rescued around 9am on Friday, April 16, close to Triton Fish Company, a few kilometers from Ogunmakin in Ogun State by a security team led by the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Idi Ayunre Division.
On Wednesday, June 9, around 8:30am, about eight gunmen kidnapped four persons,
They left some others with gunshot wounds.
The gang was said to have hijacked two vehicles with which they took their hostages away.
An elderly man was said to have been spared by the gangsters.
The policemen at Idi Ayunre in conjunction with hunters and members of a vigilante group, stormed the forest in search of the kidnappers and their victims but failed to get them.
Just as the Oyo State Police Command vowed to vigorously tackle crime in the state, Governor Seyi Makinde said security would be intensified across the state.
During his visit to a security base at Mamu community on Ibadan-Ijebu Ode Road, Makinde said the government would combat criminals on the highway.
“This particular place has really been in the news for kidnapping. We want to secure all the entry and exit points to Oyo State. This is the border with Ogun State. We have CCTV cameras out there that are being monitored from a control room. If anything is going on here, they can alert us, the security agencies can deal with the situation appropriately.”
Speaking on efforts to curb the trend, the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State, Mrs. Ngozi Onadeko, had given the assurance that the situation would be brought under control.
She said necessary security apparati had been deployed to arrest the situation in the area.
In her words: “Both private and public users of the Idi-Ayunre/Ijebu-Ode Road, as well as every other boundary-related route within the Oyo State Police Command’s jurisdiction should bear in mind that security apparati have been deployed.”
