FOLLOWING the report that fleeing bandits and terrorists from the North were heading to the South West, the Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams; some security groups including the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC and the Hunters’ Association, yesterday, slammed governors of the region for not collaborating with them to secure the zone.

Recall that Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State raised the alarm over the influx of fleeing bandits from the North-Central to Southern Nigeria, especially the South West.

S-West govs yet to respond to my request — Gani Adams

Speaking with Vanguard, Iba Adams, yesterday, disclosed that the South West governors are yet to respond to his requests to partner with the state security architectures to get rid of terrorists and bandits across the zone.

Adams, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Aderemi, said Yoruba land will be too hot for terrorists and members of the ISWAP, adding that efforts are on to stop the spate of insecurity in Yorubaland.

While reacting to the various threats emanating from the influx of ISWAP and bandits in the South West, he said: “Apart from the Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, there are still over 10 private security groups, known as the Southwest Security Stakeholders Group, SSSG, under my leadership and are ready to flush terrorists and bandits out of Yorubaland.

“We are ready to do the job and we are not going to relent until there is peace in our region.”

We need govs’ approval — OPC

The OPC in the Southwest said it was ready to participate in the fight against insecurity in the region, but could not do so without the governors’ approval and necessary backing.

The Deputy Coordinator of OPC in Ogun State, Alao Olusola, who spoke with Vanguard, said the OPC leadership has written letters to all governors in the region, seeking their permission to fight the insecurity in the zone, but none of them responded.

Olusola said: “OPC wrote letters to traditional rulers in the region on the same subject matter, but none of them responded to the letter.

“But as members of OPC, we are partnering with Police in our different areas to fight the insecurity in our areas.

“If the governments in the Southwest can give us go ahead, we are ready to flush out all criminal elements in the region.”

Ondo govt ignoring us — Hunters, OPC

Lamenting that the Ondo State government has not carried them along in their efforts to tackle insecurity.

An OPC member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “It’s unfortunate that the Ondo State government has not deemed it fit to carry us along in their fight against insecurity.

“It will be in the interest of the state if we are carried along in the fight against insecurity across the states. It’s not only in this state, reports we get from across the states in the region are that the governors in the South West government don’t mind us. We are doing ours in the interest of humanity.”

Speaking with Vanguard, the South West Media Officer, Nigeria Forest Security Service, NFSS, formerly known as Nigeria Hunters and Forest Security Services, NHFSS, Bayo Adediran, said: “Some governors including Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Ademola Adeleke of Osun State and Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State have been assisting our group via provision of operational vehicles, motorcycles and adequate recognition.

“I strongly believe that our Southwest governors will join hands with the department to flush out criminals in our forests.

“The Southwest Special Forest Force, SSFF, under the leadership of Ambassador Emmanuel Adedayo is a department in the NFSS, specially designed to combat evil perpetrators in our forests.

“We hope that our governors in the region would collaborate with us to tackle insecurity in the region. They cannot tackle this menace alone. We are closer to the grassroots.”

Osun govt not reaching out — OPC

On his part, the Coordinator of OPC in Osun State, Mr Adeyemi Aboderin, disclosed to Vanguard that the group is still waiting for the state government’s invitation.

Aboderin said: “We have received a standby order from the Aare Ona Kakanfo, Iba Gan Adams to be vigilant and collaborate with the state government to ensure proper security of forest and border towns in the region.

“However, here in Osun State, we are still waiting for the State Government to reach out to us on areas of collaboration to ensure the safety of lives and property in the state.

“We have 36,000 members spread across the 30 local government areas of the state and all of the units are ready to do the needful in contributing to the safety of the state. We are ready and would collaborate with the government whenever they reach out to us.”