The Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the South-West, Adegoke Fayoade, has directed the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, to work with other security agencies to curb recurring killings and other violent crimes in the state.
Fayoade gave the directive during a security meeting held Friday at the Osun State Police Command Headquarters in Osogbo with heads of security agencies.
The meeting was attended by the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Oluwatoyin Babalola; the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Osun State, Pastor John Adeleke; representatives of the All Progressives Congress; and journalists.
The ruling Accord Party did not send representatives to the meeting.
Addressing participants, Fayoade condemned the wave of killings allegedly linked to cult groups and directed the police commissioner to identify the hideouts of those responsible and ensure they were arrested and prosecuted.
He said the rise in cult-related violence was a continuation of similar incidents recorded in 2022 and warned that the killings must not be allowed to persist.
“We don’t care what affiliation they have or what political party they belong to. As long as they are disturbing the peace of the people, they must be brought to book,” Fayoade said.
He directed the commissioner of police to coordinate joint security patrols with other agencies across the state, beginning immediately and continuing through the election period.
According to him, security personnel should conduct regular patrols with armored vehicles, establish checkpoints and increase their presence in areas identified as crime hotspots to deter criminal activities and intercept illegal weapons.
“There must be a joint show of force. From this weekend until the election, there must be joint patrols across the state,” he said.
Fayoade said security agencies would not tolerate criminal activities regardless of the perpetrators’ political or social affiliations.
He also described retaliatory killings among rival cult groups as a dangerous cycle of violence that must be stopped.
Osun State has witnessed an increase in cult-related and politically motivated killings in recent weeks.
On Sunday, a 14-year-old boy, Ezekiel Olapade, was shot dead by suspected political hoodlums in Ilobu. On Tuesday, another resident identified as Rogba was killed by unidentified gunmen in Esa-Oke.
