Afenifere Cries Out Over Rising Kidnapping Cases in Oyo, Ogun, Others

The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, on Tuesday, expressed displeasure over the rising cases of kidnapping and terror attacks in Yorubaland and other parts of the country.

The organisation’s feeling was contained in a statement released by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

According to the organisation, the fact that incidents of terror attacks, including kidnappings, are occurring virtually every day in various parts of the country is giving Afenifere a lot of concern.

“Before now, reports of incidents of this nature used to be from other climes. But these days, the horrendous incidents are also occurring in Yorubaland of Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, Kwara, and parts of Kogi.

“We are deeply concerned about this, just as we are uncomfortable with the sacking of communities, kidnapping, killing, livestock rustling, arson, and maiming of people in some other parts of the country, particularly in Plateau, Benue, Niger, Nassarawa, Katsina, Borno, Bauchi, Kaduna, and the Federal Capital Territory; to mention a few,” he said.

Ajayi submitted that Afenifere has, for years, been drawing attention to the then incipient banditry before it escalated into pure terrorism, sacking of communities, and direct attacks on military bases and police stations.

He added that Afenifere is highly disturbed by the news of the kidnapping of a trader at Jinarere in Ibadan, the abduction of two staffers of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company on Ibadan-Ijebu-ode Road, attacks on families in Ondo and Ekiti, killing of farmers in Tede, Ago-Are, killing of military police men in Tenibo/Kenanji in Kwara State, desertion of palaces by some traditional rulers in Kwara state as a result of bandits’ incessant attacks, raids of an orphanage, churches, mosques, markets, and households in various states.