Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has inaugurated a new security arrangement to safeguard the zone against banditry, terrorism and other forms of criminal activities.

The move by Adams, who is also National Coordinator of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), was to strengthen the security architecture of the South West, Saturday Sun gathered.

The security arrangement, known as Oodua Dependable Security Team, has been launched in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Osun states already, with Ekiti and Ondo the only remaining states in the region.

Investigation revealed that Yoruba indigenes, who are mostly members of OPC, constitute majorly the team in each state, and the arrangement runs through each local government and wards in the four states. As gathered, the same thing would be repeated when the remaining two states are enlisted in the team set up to complement efforts of the government against crimes and criminalities.

The thrust of his addresses at the separate inauguration ceremonies in Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan and Osogbo echoed that the era of insecurity in the South West was gone. He also warned terrorists to stay away from the region or face the wrath of the OPC.

He explained that the composition of the dependable security team was an intervention strategy of the OPC to nip the security challenges in the bud across the South West region.

The new security arrangement, he said, became necessary as a result of various cases of insecurity, including rape, killings and kidnapping, which had hindered peace and tranquillity across the region.

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An alarm was raised some weeks ago that terrorists had surrounded and infiltrated the South West and had started using Ondo State as a litmus test to know if their operations would be successful in the entire Yorubaland or not. Several attacks by terrorists have been launched in different states in the region, with Ondo State, recording the highest number, including the attack on a Catholic church in Owo, which claimed scores of lives.

Aare Adams added that the leadership of OPC came up with the new security strategic approach in order to rescue the present situation in the region.

Speaking during the inauguration of the team in Osogbo, Osun State, he said: “We are worried that the security situation in the South West is getting worse by the day. We are worried that peace has eluded us in recent times because of the spate of insecurity across the southwest. It was not like this in the past.

“We had it so good in the past. Our security then was fantastic. Issues of killings and kidnapping for ransom were alien to our tradition in the South West. Our leaders prominently catered for our needs in education, and health, and all the social facilities were available for the people. Those were the legacies of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, when the people of the region could sleep with our eyes open.

“But things have taken a drastic turn today, because politicians of today clearly abandoned their responsibilities and created a huge gap between them and the electorate. It is a fact that, if the situation continues like this, it will definitely consume the entire nation. Nigeria has lost the battle, and I don’t think this country could survive the next two years under these failed security challenges. As a group that has the capacity to defend our region, we consider it pertinent to rise to the occasion by making sure that the South West is safe for all residents.”

In Oyo State, over 200 persons were verified in each of the 33 local government areas and 35 local council development authorities in Oyo State. In the same vein, more than 100 members were also drawn from each of the 69 local government and LCDAs in Osun State.

According to Adams, it is the job of the team “to assist by complementing the efforts of the police and other security agencies in securing the state.”

During the inauguration of the team held in Ibadan, Adams said: “The OPC Dependable Security Team is a child of necessity that was borne out of our desire to secure the South West region against intruders. It is a combination of about 200 members each from each of the 68 local government and LCDAs in Oyo State, and it is just to show the strength of our dependable forces in the state.

“We are using this to send a strong message to the terrorists masquerading as kidnappers and killers and across the  South West region. We will resist any attempt to turn Yoruba land into a hub of terrorism. The South West is no longer a home for terrorists.”

Adams said a recent exploit of the OPC Dependable Security Team was along Ijede Road, Ikorodu, Lagos State, when the team intercepted two buses loaded with caches of live cartridges, heading for the North, and were handed over to the police for proper investigation.