An Akure socio-cultural group, Ooye Development Initiatives (ODI), has called on the Ondo State Government to prioritize the protection of the lives and properties of the people of Akure North and South against a recent upsurge in kidnapping, killing, and ransom demand from the people by bandits.
The mainstream Akure group, in a release issued by its president, Tokunbo Jegede, lamented the issue of kidnapping and killings in some parts of Akure and the state in general.
Jegede said kidnapping and killing have become increasingly frightening, necessitating the call on the state government to protect the lives and properties of the ordinary people, which he said requires urgent intervention.
It read: “We as a group call on the state government to act swiftly in restoring peace and order in these areas.
“Our people are too vulnerable to the attacks of these nefarious individuals who seem to have a field day in shedding innocent people’s blood, killing and maiming without the government coming to their aid.”
While explaining the potential damage that insecurity is wreaking on the state, ODI said the areas where the incessant killings, kidnapping, and ransom demands happen in Ondo State were its agricultural economic hubs, a situation which it said was not only frightening away investors but crippling the economy of the state.
ODI also reminded the government that its most important role, for which the people voted it into office, is the protection of their lives and property, stating that the moment the government fails to adequately play this role, it leaves the people with no choice but to resort to self-help.
According to him, “The people of Akure North and South and indeed the generality of Ondo State, want to feel government’s protective hands in their day-to-day activities. Today, they can’t feel them.
“If this trend continues, the people may have to be their own government, and the implication of this is that we may land in the Hobbesian world where life is nasty, brutish, and short.”
