Osun State Governor, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State, on Tuesday, flagged off a joint task force against kidnapping, cultism, illegal mining and other related crimes in the state.
He stressed that the move was in furtherance of his administration’s stringent efforts at ridding the state of all criminal tendencies with a view to securing the lives and property of the around of the state in line with the constitutional mandate to guarantee security and welfare of the citizens.
During the flag off ceremony at the Government House in Osogbo, the governor disclosed that the joint task force was a collaboration of the Army, the Police, the Air Force, the Department of State Service, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Immigration Service.
He noted that the task force would provide operational support for Amotekun to fight cultism, kidnapping, illegal mining and other related crimes in the state.
“Today’s flag-off crystallizes our bottom-up approach to fighting crime as we have involved communities across our state to elicit inputs into our security architecture and operations,” Oyetola noted.
“It is also intended to consolidate our achievements and retain the status of Osun as the safest state in Nigeria,” Oyetola added.
“All these efforts are aimed at reducing the incursion of criminals into the state. Security for us is a comprehensive initiative which includes economic, social, political and other spheres.
The governor explained that government’s social investment programmes such as employment for youths and credit facilities for the people were designed to empower them and eliminate crimes, hence there must be no reason for criminal tendencies in the state.
He added that the inclusion of illegal mining as a component of the joint task force “was a proof that we take our economic and industrial initiatives seriously.”
Oyetola stressed that the security architecture was a proof of government’s desire to provide adequate security for the state’s economic and investment programmes to realise the vision for translating the state into an economic hub.
While assuring of government’s readiness to fund the task force to make it functional, the governor charged officials of the security outfit to perform their tasks with all sense of patriotism, integrity, commitment, diligence and without compromise.
“There is no hiding place for men of the underworld in the State of Osun. Today’s flag-off is, therefore, a warning to them to either leave the State of Osun or face the music,” Oyetola stressed.
The Commissioner of Police, Johnson Kokumo, warned criminals to steer clear of the state “because The State of Osun is not a safe haven for criminals.”
He, however, urged the public to give information in any criminal circumstances to assist the police in nipping them in the bud, noting: “When you see something, say something.”
