Federal Government has deployed a special detachment of military personnel to Ekiti state to curtail the activities of kidnappers and other criminal elements in the state.
The state was in the news last week over the killings of two revered traditional rulers along Oke-Ako axis and the abduction of school children and teachers in Emure-Ekiti. The incident happened the same day.
Worried by the events, the governor met with the Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja ; the Chief of Defence Staff, Musa Mustapha and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu , where he called for more deployment of operatives to the state.
On Thursday, the state government received the first batch of troops deployed to the state who were seen patrolling major towns and communities.
The Commander 32 Artillery Brigade, Akure, Brig Gen. John Lar, who spoke at a brief ceremony in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital on Thursday, said that the personnel were drafted across the country by the Chief of Army Staff to enhance security of lives and property in Ekiti.
The commander revealed that the troops will be deployed across the 16 Local Government Areas and the adjourning states to flush out criminal herdsmen, kidnappers and other marauders wreaking havoc in the state.
He called on the citizens not to panic but support the security agencies towards ensuring a peaceful state where everybody will go about their lawful activities without any fear of attack.
While stressing that the military would work all round the clock tto clear the forests of infiltrators, Brig. Gen. Lar, disclosed that the military personnel would be swiftly deployed to their designated positions, emphasising on heightened border surveillance to dismantle criminal networks operating within the forests.
He said, “We are here in the state and our troops are ready to secure the state. The men have been properly briefed, they are expected to clear the bushes and forest within the next few hours.”
The Special Adviser to the state governor on Security, Brigadier General Ebenezar Ogundana (retd) while welcoming the troops to the state, said they would be deployed to the troubled areas to ward off gunmen terrorizing the state, especially the borders towns of Kogi, Kwara, Osun and Ondo state.
“With the soldiers around, I can assure our people that they are safe. We also want to inform the people of the state, we need timely information, to help the troops to carry out their assignment successfully,” he said.
The Commissioner for Information, Taiwo Olatunbosun said the deployment of officers and men of the Nigerian Army to the state was a direct result of Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s discussions with President Bola Tinubu and his meeting with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and other Service Chiefs to bolster security in the state against all forms of crimes.
Urging residents to go about their normal and lawful businesses without fear of molestation, Olatunbosun stressed that the troops were not in the state to create anxiety or cause panic but to keep residents of the state safe and secure
