Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has said that he will resist the ultimatum that Ibadan-based socialite and activist, Sunday Igboho, gave to the Hausa-Fulani in the Ibarapa area of the state.
Igboho has asked them to leave, saying they were formenting criminality.
But Makinde said on Friday that the ultimatum was unconstitutional.
Besides, he said, it was not only one tribe that was committing crimes.
He said, “For people stoking ethnic tension, they are criminals and once you get them, they should be arrested and treated like common criminals.
“For this administration, the major pillar for us is security, because we know that all the good economic plans we have won’t be possible in an atmosphere of chaos and insecurity.
“So, when people say things that are neither lawful nor within the spirit of Nigeria’s Constitution, it is not acceptable here. And they cannot hide under the guise of protecting Yoruba’s interest to perpetuate chaos in the state.
“I am sure that since you came in, you must have heard about some things happening at Ibarapa axis of the state. I will still say it here that we are not after Hausa-Fulani. We are after criminals.
“We are after hoodlums and bandits irrespective of their tribe, religion, or creed. Those are the people we are after. If you look into the records, when we had the armed robbery incident at Okeho in Kajola Local Government Area of the state, some people were killed, some were arrested and we found out that they were from Ebira, from Kogi State. So, we want to go after the criminals – whether they are Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani or whoever they are.”
The governor spoke while receiving the new Commissioner of Police in the state, Mrs Ngozi Onadeko, stressing that the state government would not relent in placing priority on the welfare of security agencies in the state.
RHe added, “Amotekun here in Oyo State is working with us towards the same objective. We need intelligence to know about criminals before they even strike. It is one of the major reasons why we set up Amotekun; to be able to gather intelligence in all the wards in Oyo State.
“But the same people that demonised Amotekun are the ones now telling us that a certain ethnic nationality should leave this place.
“You and your team are all coming in at a very challenging time. This is a period where false information is almost at its highest, ethnic tension almost at its highest as well. So, I will say you have your job cut out for you. We won’t make the job difficult. We will be sincere and open; we will support you.”
Earlier, the new Commissioner of Police, Mrs Onadeko, said, “We are here to formally tell you that we have resumed duty. We came with the promise that we want to make the lives and property of the people of Oyo State safe and secure. We want the people to go to bed with their eyes closed.”
