Ogun and the battle to combat crime

                                                   Gov Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State

The crime rate in Ogun State in recent times, no doubt, is seriously provoking.
Many residents of the “Gateway State” are living with fear in their hearts as no one knows where he or she can be a victim of circumstance.
Of course, there is no gainsaying in the fact that, crime rate generally has been alarming throughout the length and breadth of the country, despite various efforts to combat crime by governments at all levels.
As mentioned earlier, the state in the past years had been an abode of armed robbers who dispossess victims of their positions and at times claimed the lives of the innocent ones.
For over a year and half ago, commercial banks in Ijebu-Igbo had locked their doors against their customers, due to the activities of the men of the underworld. Robbery incidents recorded in that axis during the administration of the immediate past government in the state was up to five times, with monies running into billions of naira carted away.
These heinous acts were recorded recently in Ilaro, the political headquarters of Yewaland, when robbers numbering 20 stormed the town in broad daylight and attack no fewer than three banks located along the local government council secretariat.
Apart from money that was taken away in “Ghana Must Go Bags”, young school children and some passers-by were victims of the robbery incident.
As if that was not enough, the robbers despite several threats on the part of the State Government and security agencies especially the Police, again struck at the permanent site of the  Olabisi Onabanjo University, (OOU),  Ago-Iwoye, some few weeks back and without any hindrance from any quarter, carried out their act by attacking no fewer than three commercial banks operating within the University system.
Wonders, the saying says shall never end. A university system, that is basically an academic environment where knowledge is being impacted into the hearts and minds of those who desire to know, is no longer safe.
Two students of the state-owned institution and a food vendor became victims of the robbers, who were said to be armed to teeth, using dangerous weapons to break into the banking halls of the affected banks.
The OOU incident was another case study entirely as the robbers again dared the security agencies by attacking another set of banks in Sagamu area of the state some few weeks back. Nigerian Tribune was informed that the robbers attacked the financial institutions with confidence without fear or molestation,   despite the presence of the Vigilance Group and other security agencies in the town.
The Sabo area of the town was later turned into a battle field as members of the local vigilance group engaged the robbers in sporadic shooting and those killed in the ensuing confusion included a commercial motorcyclist, a student, members of the vigilance group, among other victims.
Of recent, robbers attacked the residence of the immediate past deputy governor of the State, Alhaja Salmot Badru and former deputy speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Edwards- Ayo Odugbesan on Olusegun Obasanjo Hilltop Estate in Abeokuta.
As if that was not enough, residents of Oke-Ejigbo in Abeokuta South Local Government, just last Friday played hosts to the hoodlums, who attacked over 30 houses for over two and a half hours.
The latest was another bank robbery incident in Ifo area of the state on Tuesday. Although, no causalities were recorded, the hoodlums successfully carted away undisclosed amount of money.
For the month of November alone, the number of armed robbery cases which claimed innocent lives were indeed one robbery too many.
Worried by these ugly developments, the present administration under the leadership of Senator Ibikunle Amosun has vowed to win wars against armed bandits terrorising the state.
As part of measures put in place to fight criminal activities to a standstill by the administration was the inauguration of the local Vigilance Group with the provision of no fewer than 20 Hilux Pick up Vans and communication gadgets.
During the launch of the group, Amosun, represented by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Muyiwa Oladipo, vowed to make the state inhabitable for robbers and other criminals alike.
The governor while playing host to bankers under the umbrella of Ijebu Bankers Forum added that appropriate steps are being taken to put an end to the menace of armed robbers in the state.
He noted that his administration as part of effort to reduce crime rate in the state to zero explained that government would soon take delivery of highly sophisticated equipment that would assist security operatives in tackling the menace.
Amosun added that the state needed about 120 Hilux jeeps as well as 30 APCs to be located in strategic areas in the state in order to effectively secure the state.
The governor said, “We must do the needful and we all know that security is important for any meaningful development to take place. Our goal of industrialising the state cannot be realised in an atmosphere of insecurity. We have to win this battle and we will win it.”
The state government has also concluded plans for the smooth take off of military/police joint security operations.
The governor, while emphasising the importance of a sound security environment as a pre-requisite for businesses to thrive, appealed to corporate organisations to complement government’s efforts on security through funding.
According to him, “These things don’t come cheap; a standard APC goes for between N85m and N100m and we will soon take delivery of 10 of them; we actually need between 30 and 35 to cover the whole state and ensure that robbers don’t find it easy in the state. We need to tool the APC’s as well as equip and motivate those that will operate them.
“The joint military/police patrol will cost money too. We need at least 30 teams to patrol the whole state and that will cost money. We will need about 1,200 men for the patrol and N50m would be needed to fund each of the patrol teams; this amounts to N1.5billion."
He identified the proximity of the state to the former capital of the country, Lagos State and the closeness of the state to border areas as reason for the high crime rate.
The governor in a meeting with the Corps Commander, Nigeria Army Corps of Artillery, Major General Emmanuel Etim Bassey, recently pointed out that the joint military/police patrol operations will begin this month.
He said, “When the joint military/police task force begins operations in December, it will reduce drastically the security challenges in the state.”

We all hope for change in Ogun state..