Troops for roads to stop killings, says Osinbajo

It was time yesterday for sober reflections on the insecurity in the land by eminent citizens who sympathised with Afenifere leader Pa Reuben Fasoranti on the killing of his daughter Mrs. Funke Olakunrin.

Mrs. Olakunrin was killed on Friday on the Benin-Ore road by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and former APC Interim Chairman Chief Bisi Akande, among others, were at the Akure, Ondo State home of Pa Fasoranti.

Osinbajo said soldiers would be deployed in flashpoints on roads as part of the community policing structure being planned by the government to stop such killings.

Tinubu described Mrs Olakunrin’s death as “sad” and “unacceptable”, but warned against using her passage to divide the country.

He said he had been assured by the government and the law enforcement agents that the killers would not go scot-free.

Osinbajo, who arrived at Pa Fasoranti’s home at 9:10am, was accompanied by Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and  former Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters Senator Babafemi Ojudu.

He described Mrs Olakunrin’s death as a “massive tragedy”.

Speaking with reporters, Osinbajo reiterated the importance of community policing to combat crimes and gather intelligence for effective policing.

Osinbajo said: “As you know, I’m here to commiserate with the families of Olakunrin and Pa Fasoranti.

“The President has very recently met not only with the Service chiefs but also the IG (Inspector-General) and he has laid out a new policy of the community policing.

“One of the most important things is this sort of crimes, because they are largely economic crimes, people are trying to make money by kidnapping.

“Another important thing is the intelligence gathering that is why we have the community policing system where policemen would be trained in their own local government and they would remain there.”

According to Osinbajo, the government will also be engaging the military to man the flash points on the roads to boost its community policing system.

He said the IG was committed to ensuring that the police “fully covered” the country, even with helicopters.

The VP said: “We are getting close to the community policing structure that we expect to have while we are engaging the Army so that there will be more military presence, especially on the highway.

“This is to fasten the search for these killers and also to ensure that there is adequate presence to deter this kind of terrible situation from reoccurring.

“We are looking at the whole security architecture and trying to ensure that we are able to scale up and ensure that we are able to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians.

“Security in a big country like Nigeria, as you can imagine; the challenge is dynamic and we also have to be consistently dynamic to ensure that we are able to beat the challenges as they appear.

“I think that we can be very hopeful that we would see peace and calm as some of the steps we are taking come into fruition.

“You know also we met with the governors in the Southwest and in the different zones and everybody is coming to ensure that security is adequate and everybody feels safe and secure.”

Tinubu said it was unfortunate that some people were eagerly trying to use this tragedy to advance their political agenda, adding: “I sincerely regret that such behaviour for it is wrong and out of place. It does not well fit the moment. This is a time for consolation and genuine condolence.”

The former Lagos State governor urged security agencies to fish out the killers of Mrs. Olakunrin, who identified poverty and unemployment as causes of insecurity.

Consoling the nonagenarian, Tinubu said: “I am a nationalist and the securtity concern and challenge right now must be faced squarely throughout Nigeria.

“The incident that affected one member of our family, Mrs. Olakunrin, is seriously sad; and unacceptable but nobody can return her alive, she has answered the call of her creator.

“We must not use this incident to divide ourselves, but we must use it as a cure to the security problem. We need additional police, additional patrol and additional security reinforcement on Ore road and various flash points across the country; I have discussed this among the various authorities. The governor is eminently aware and being proactive about this.

“The security challenges are numerous across this country and to fight it we are going through that; more police are being recruited and it takes time to train and deploy them to various areas. Nobody prepares more than necessary for this.

“But, if you look at Zamfara, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti and all areas, then we need to fight poverty, unemployment and the causes that might lead people to crying. Equally, we must create opportunity to convert this tragedy to prosperity.

“Funke was very close to me and she died a premature death. Only four or five days ago, we chatted and I know what she discussed with me and about Baba’s health conditions. We just pray that this will not happen again.

“I am extremely concerned about security; I don’t want a stigma; I can go through history of kidnapping in Nigeria and we know how and where it all started; there are lots of copycats.

“How many years ago have we been facing insecurity in the country? There are cases of kidnapping. Is Evans who was arrested and made disclosures a herdsman? I don’t want to be political, but I will ask: where are the cows?”

Fasoranti said he never knew that her daughter came home to bid her final good bye.

He urged the government to proffer a lasting solution to kidnapping and other crimes.

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