Insecurity: Oyo monarch warns against selling land to foreigners
Against the increasing rate of crimes in OkeOgun area of Oyo State allegedly being committed by suspected Fulani herdsmen, the Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Abdulganiy Adekunle Oloogunebi, has called on residents and land dealers to stop selling lands to individuals that they cannot ascertain their nationality, saying the act has contributed to the rising insecurity in his domain.
The monarch said kidnapping and criminalities that have been rocking the Ibarapa area of the state was as a result of lack of vigilance by the people, saying: “If people could keep track of new faces and suspicious movement of strangers, the perpetrators would be nabbed before they commit any crime.”
The monarch told journalists at his palace in Iseyin, Oyo
State on Wednesday that traditional rulers in the Oke-ogun region have resolved to keep their domains safe from criminal activities that could hinder economic growth of the region.
The Aseyin noted that the efforts of the Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration in making the state investors’ haven could only be realisable if the citizens assist security agencies with prompt and useful information about strange individuals and events around them.
“It is very saddening that kidnapping that armed robbery are the trending issues in the country today, what happened in the old, where our people keep vigil in their communities against invaders and criminal elements is what we should resort to now, if you see any strange thing happening within your community, call the elders who will call on the Baale, this will help the security agencies to have tangible information to work with.
He said, “If you see a strange person that come from the forest to buy food for more than two people, it means they are camping there and might be doing something ominous, call on the people around and stop such person(s) for questioning and if he or she cannot give convincing explanation, call on the security agents, these are ways to foil criminal acts before they manifest.
“I will also want to appeal to my people to stop selling lands to foreigners that they cannot ascertain their nationality, recent security intelligence have shown that foreigners from Niger, Chad, Cameroon and other countries who do not even have proper documentation are buying lands from our people.
“This action portends near and future dangers, those that sell such land are giving room for people that we do not know their ancestral and moral background to spread over our communities and wreak havoc, we have to stop this act.”