Southwest will resist attacks, Gani Adams vows

• Ekiyor relives ordeal after ‘escaping death’
• Ijaw youths decry attempt on ex-leader

The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Otunba Gani Adams, has warned that the Southwest would resist any attempts by armed herdsmen to turn any part of the region into a theatre of killings.

He therefore urged President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently mandate security agents to arrest and prosecute the blood-thirsty criminals, masquerading as herdsmen.

Adams said it was unacceptable that the maniacs were becoming bolder by the day, extending their deadly activities to security agents.

In a statement yesterday, the Aare Ona Kankanfo described the murder of the Officer-in-Charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Saki Unit, Oyo State Police Command, by suspected herdsmen on Tuesday night, as one killing too many, saying the spate of insecurity in the country was worrisome.

He vowed that the zone would resist any conspiracy aimed at “killing our people at will. The diplomacy of the Yoruba on national issues, especially when it borders on security, should not be misconstrued for cowardice.

“The Federal Government must immediately check the activities of these killers to avoid plunging the country into an avoidable war.”

Adams insisted that the only solution to the various crises in the polity was to restructure the country.

However, former president of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Dr. Chirs Ekiyor, yesterday relived his experience in the hands of two armed herdsmen after he narrowly escaped death when his vehicle was reportedly attacked by the militias along the East West Road immediately after the Unenure Bridge bordering Ughelli and Patani in Delta State.

A one-time commissioner and chairman of Patani council area of the state, Ekiyor told reporters that though he miraculously escaped unhurt but same could not be said of six others in the commercial vehicle directly behind him, as they were caught up in the sporadic gunfire.

Ekiyor, who spoke at his Patani home, displayed the bullet-ridden jeep. The attack occurred around 6.15p.m. on his way back from Asaba where he had gone to do his regular business. He noted that the two gunmen came out of the bush.

Also yesterday, Ijaw youths expressed displeasure over the attempt on their ex-leader.

The factional IYC president, Oweilaemi Pereotubo, said the body was consulting on the appropriate response to the development.

Speaking through his spokesman, Daniel Dasimaka, he called on security agencies to rise up to the growing insecurity in the country.