Afenifere decries rise in kidnapping, destruction of INEC facilities in South-West

The pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere, on Monday, decried the spate of kidnapping and attacks by non-state actors in the South-West part of the country, especially along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, the group noted with concern, the recent burning of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices in the region.

Afenifere warned that the growing violence in the South-West was an indication that terrorists might be expanding to the region from the North.

There were at least three separate cases of kidnapping on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway last month. In one of the cases, a former Deputy Vice- Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Adigun Agbaje, and two students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic , Abeokuta, were kidnapped and only released after payment of ransoms.

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The statement read: “Reports also had it that suspected Fulani bandits attacked travellers on October 27, 2022, abducting five persons and killing several others. Two days after, on October 29, seven bandits in Irele Ekiti-Oke Ako Highway in Ajoni Local Council Development Area, Ekiti State abducted four travelers.”

The group urged the South-West governors to be more decisive in tackling insecurity in the region.

“Unauthorized burning of any property is condemnable by all standards. The fact that this type of arson reared its head in the South-West is unacceptable. It should be thoroughly investigated and made to be the last of such an occurrence. There should be no excuse whatsoever to put the 2023 general elections in jeopardy.”

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