The governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has denounced the brutalisation of two Oyo State Road Transport Management Agency (OYRTMA) staff by Nigeria Immigration Service agents in Ibadan.
The governor condemned the cruel behaviour of OYRTMA officials who apprehended an Immigration Service officer for violating traffic laws.
Governor Makinde made this statement while visiting the two assaulted officials, Mr Nurudeen Abiola of the Binukonu Olunloyo Area and Mr Taiwo Adeagbo of the Oke-‘Badan Area, as well as the Nigeria Immigration Service, Oyo State Command.
He described the situation as sad and should not have occurred, emphasising that Oyo State wants to be known for maintaining the rule of law and that everyone, regardless of status, must obey traffic laws.
The governor assured the victims that the state government will take appropriate action to bring the perpetrators to justice.
He said: “First, this should not be happening at all. It is very unacceptable. Whether you are Immigration official or you work for other paramilitary agencies, these individuals are just trying to enforce the laws of the state.
“The fact that you work for a federal agency does not mean you are superior. So, I have asked the Honourable Attorney-General to ensure we follow this through.
“We will write to the Immigration authorities and prosecute the people involved, as this is not acceptable in Oyo State.”
Also speaking at the office of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Agodi Gate, Ibadan, where he was received by Comptroller Abdulrasheed Ademola, Governor Makinde advocated a better intra and inter-agency cooperation among security agencies in the state.
He equally declared that there must not be a recurrence of such incident, saying: “Oyo State is known for inter- and intra-agency cooperation. So, the incident is very unfortunate.
“I have asked the State’s Comptroller of Immigration that they should cooperate with us. Yes, they said this thing happened at the zonal level. There is an ACG in charge of the zone, who we plan to reach out to.
“I have been assured by the Nigerian Immigration Service, Oyo State Command, and also the zone, that they will cooperate with us to get to the bottom of this matter and ensure that this does not happen again.
“Oyo State must be known for the rule of law and we have zero tolerance for people breaking traffic rules.”