Makinde warns traditional rulers, ‘okada’ riders over insecurity situation

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has warned traditional rulers in the state against allocating land to foreigners without proper documentation.

According to the governor, foreigners without proper documentation are contributing to the rising rate of insecurity in the state.

Makinde gave the warning in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Taiwo Adisa on Thursday, adding that his administration would ensure that foreigners in the state were properly documented very soon.

Makinde had in December 2020 raised the alarm that fighters from Mali were making serious attempts to cross into the state from the Saki border.

Continuing, the governor hinted on moves at registering commercial motorcycle riders, popularly called okada, in the state with a view to monitoring them, threatening to regulate their operations if their leaders failed to get them registered.

The statement read in part: “The governor equally warned traditional rulers and village heads against allocating lands to undocumented foreigners, stating that some undocumented individuals had been contributing to insecurity in the state.

“So, we are going to provide some documentation for them. Those who work in the mining site will be documented and a task force is being set up to do this.”

Read also: Gov Makinde vows to sanction erring personnel of Amotekun over alleged high-handedness

On moves to register bike riders, the governor said “if they would not register their people, we will be left with no choice than to just regulate the hours in which they operate. So, I am hopeful that they will cooperate with us by getting their people registered,” he added.

On the recent disagreements between the police and Amotekun, Makinde said the state had observed that the relationship between the police and Amotekun was not cordial but said that this would be addressed to make the two work better.

He said: “Amotekun is not operating in a vacuum. They are a creation of the law of the state. The Nigerian Police is a creation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is normal that we have inter and intra agency friction where possible, but we will get everybody together and seek alignment towards the same end basically”.

He however noted that some persons were out to discredit the good works of Amotekun but said such would not be allowed to stand.

He, however, called on whoever had any genuine complaints against the security outfit to come forward, saying the state would look into such.

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