•Ambode: we’ll not tolerate such sacrilege again
•Lagos to confiscate buildings, hotels used for kidnapping
Lagos monarch Oba Riliwanu Aremu Akiolu yesterday warned vandals and kidnappers to stay away from the state, saying that the security apparatus has been fortified to wage war against every form of criminality.
Akiolu spoke when he led members of the Lagos State Council of Obas and Chiefs to the Lagos House, Ikeja, on a “Thank you” visit to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.
He said: “It is in their (hoodlums) interest to desist and look for other legal ventures to make ends meets. The mere fact that the economy appears not okay does not mean that you resort to criminality. They should stop, not just kidnapping, but any form of criminality. No religion accepts such. Everybody is at alert now, we are on our toes now and with the encouragement given by the Chief of Naval Staff, the National Security Adviser and the Inspector-General of Police, they will be chased to anywhere they are,” he said.
He enjoined members of the council to rise to their responsibilities and take the business of security within their communities seriously.
He said the incident which led to the kidnap of the Oniba of Iba, Oba Goriola Oseni, on July 16, was a wake-up call to all, noting that the business of protecting lives and property should not be left to the security agencies alone.
Akiolu said: “Honestly, as I told my brother Obas, all of us will have to go back and rearrange our security architecture. All hands must be on deck, everyone must assist the government. That’s why in my palace, people accuse me of being too security conscious, but I told them that well, maybe because I was a policeman, but it’s God that is the ultimate security of our lives.
“It is very necessary. We are happy because the governor did very well. All the security agencies did all that they could do but we still have to be at alert. Everybody must be prepared. We are not going to take things for granted now.”
He lauded the governor’s and the security agencies’ efforts in rescuing the Iba monarch.
Responding, Ambode said the state government deployed its security intelligence to unravel the circumstances surrounding the monarch’s kidnap.
The governor said: ‘’At the initial stage, when the Oba was kidnapped, it appeared as if government was not doing anything. That was actually not the case. It was not just a sacrilege in Yorubaland, but the traditional institution was indeed desecrated. So, we needed to dig into what really happened to reach a logical conclusion.”
Ambode assured the monarchs that such incident would never occur in the state again.
“We will now pay greater attention collectively to the security of our traditional rulers. We need to increase security especially for those rulers in the riverine areas. Whatever it is that the Council of Obas must do, must be done to strengthen the security in that area, but there must be cohesion and unity amongst us.
“Anything that will bring about peace and make the state progress is our priority and the security of lives and property has always been the priority of this government,” the governor said.
Also yesterday, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Fatai Owoseni threatened to confiscate houses and hotels used as hideouts for kidnapping and other criminal activities in the state.
Addressing reporters after the State Security Council meeting presided over by Ambode, Owoseni said: “There is no hiding place for criminal elements again as we get them, they would be made to face the full wrath of the law. In addition to that, the Council resolved that any structure or any places of hiding that criminal elements are using, the state will not hesitate to take over those safe havens, structures or houses,” he said.
Owoseni also advised criminals to turn over a new leaf and get themselves meaningfully engaged, warning that ‘’there is no hiding place for them in the state’’.
