The Ondo State Deputy Governor, Dr Olayide Adelami, has urged the residents of the Owo community, where cult clashes occurred recently, to provide adequate information to the security agencies to enable them to arrest the culprits.
It was reported that not fewer than four people have been killed so far during a fight between two rival cult groups, while another man identified as Nasiru Isiaka was killed a few days later in the Owo community, the headquarters of the Owo Local Government Area of the state in the past few days.
As a result, the state police command said it had arrested not less than 19 people in connection with the incident while the government had imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the community to forestall further breakdown of law and order in the ancient town.
Adelami, while speaking through his chief of staff, Dr Kola Falohun at the security summit organised by a group known as the Owo Youths Forum, held in the community on Sunday, decried the recent killings in the community, saying the development could bring the community into further disrepute if proactive measures were not taken to curb it.
He further urged the general public to offer viable information and intelligence reports to the security agencies in addressing the situation with a view to restoring peace in Owo community. Stating that “Police and other security agencies are not spirits; you need to inform them. If we must move forward, all hands must be on deck. Youths should refrain themselves; we should not pull our ourselves down.”
Furthermore, he stressed the need for the youths to be engaged and how important it is for the State Government to empower these youths. “These boys are actually not bad; only we are not engaging them. They are our brothers and sisters. We will engage them and know if there are grievances and empower them because lack of a job is a major flashpoint.”