A renowned socio-political activist and critic, Chief Adesunbo Onitiri, has restated his call for the establishment of state police, to tackle insecurity in the country.
In a statement in Lagos yesterday, he emphasised the importance of state police to support and boost operational performances of other security agencies.
Onitiri called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to outlaw open grazing nationwide, to check the activities of herdsmen engaging in kidnapping, ransom-taking, looting, killing, maiming, raping of innocent girls and housewives, taking over, destroying of people’s farms and other crimes.
He said if governors had cooperated with the Federal Government and showed their feelings for the people, the issue of state police force would have been settled.
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Onitiri noted that the herdsmen had invaded forests nationwide, committing atrocities in the name of free movement.
‘’The irony of the situation is that whenever any of them commits a crime and is arrested, authorities in Abuja will demand his transfer to the place.
“And this will be the end of the matter, leaving the victims and their families to suffer the consequences,” he said.
Onitiri said because of herders’ problems, ‘’farmers and their families now fear for their lives and are afraid to go to their farms, causing food shortages and inflation in the country.’’
The social critic said the problem of herders had got to a peak, adding that if nothing tangible was done to tackle it, there might be reprisal against the herders terrorising farmers on their farms, which might create more security problems.
