THE Police has stated that reports of the recent killings and abductions in the country have been exaggerated, insisting, for instance, that the recent killing of monarchs and abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Ekiti State do not reflect the true picture of the security situation in the state.
Speaking on a television programme, Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said insecurity was a major problem in the state and indeed the Southwest, noting that the topography of Ekiti could be responsible for the recent incidents, as it is surrounded by rocks.
He stated: “In most cases, it is the topography of some of these areas, take Bwari, for instance. Even in Lagos, the kidnapping there; take a look at the waterways. People don’t know that the waters from Lagos lead to Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states.
“As for Ekiti, it is a forest. Forget about what you read on social media; the reality is that it is not so. It is just an isolated case and it is not as if it happens on a daily basis. We have cases that are isolated, but when you read them on social media, you would think it is not what we have on social media.
“So, we don’t have that incident of kidnapping on the rise in Ekiti or anywhere in the southwestern part of the country.”
His comments followed recent killing of two traditional rulers- Onimojo of Imojo-Ekiti, Oba Olatunde Samuel Olusola, and Elesun of Esun-Ekiti, Oba David Babatunde Ogunsola, on Monday, January 29 while returning from a security meeting, as well as kidnappers’ attack on a school bus and abduction of five pupils of the Apostolic Faith Group of Schools, three teachers, and the bus driver.
Meanwhile, the Ekiti State Government has dismissed claim of attacks and deaths going viral on social media, saying the allegations were borne out of emotions following the killing of the monarchs, adding that no such attacks had occured in the state in the last one and a half years.
Commissioner for Information, Mr. Taiwo Olatunbosun, said the state government any claim of subsisting attacks on residents by unknown gunmen, resulting in multiple deaths is untrue, in reaction to a claim in a viral video that many lives had been lost to similar attacks in the state before now.
Olatunbosun denied any similar attacks in recent past, as alleged in video, noting that the recent attacks is a reflection of the security situation in the state.
He, however, assured that efforts were on by the security agencies in the state to ensure forestall any recurrence of Monday incident.
