Residents of Igangan have called on the police to arrest the Seriki Fulani of Oyo State, Abdukadir Salihu, over the killings and dcarried out by suspected herdsmen in the town on Sunday.
Some of the victims, whose shops were also razed by the attackers, told our correspondent on Wednesday that the police should arrest the Seriki and his sons based on the threats they earlier issued to attack the town.
Sekinat Ayandele and Mu’ali Oguntowo, in separate interviews with our correspondent on Wednesday also called on the state government to assist victims.
The President, Igangan Development Advocates, Wale Oladokun, also called on the police to arrest the Seriki and his children.
He said, “We call for immediate arrest and prosecution of Kadiri Saliu, the Seriki Fulani and all his sons and especially, Ibrahim Saliu, who had issued series of threats to raze down Igangan.
“Our deafening alarms of an impending attack most especially on Igangan, Tapa and Ayete received no response from the state.â€
The IDA also appealed to the governor to establish a base for Amotekun in Igangan and to empower the vigilantes to assist security agents in securing the area.
When the Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State, Adewale Osifeso, was contacted on the allegations against Seriki and his sons, he said the people should trust the police to carry out proper investigation into the attack.
Meanwhile, Nigeria Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self- Determination, which is being led by Prof. Banji Akintoye, on Wednesday urged Yoruba people to begin to defend themselves against thos attacking them in their homeland.
NINAS, which is the umbrella body for self-determination groups in the Southern and Middle Belt region of Nigeria, urged the people to stop waiting for the police or Amotekun to defend them.
The Chairperson of NINAS Central Steering Committee, Chief Folashade Olukoya and the spokesman for the the group, Mr Tony Nnadi, in a statement said the 1999 constitution was designed to render governors powerless on security-related matters.
“Community vigilantes should now not be limited to night time, but should be 24/7, with each adult member of the community taking part in rotation. Whistles, car rims, etc should be at hand to alert or wake up residents at the first sign of danger.â€
