The Iyaloja of Offa,, Kwara State, Alhaja Idiat Yusuf, has alleged that some security agents are intimidating residents of the town.
She stated this in Offa on Wednesday during a peaceful protest against what the people called intimidation and partiality.
They were referring to the soldiers and other agents drafted to the area after violence broke out between Ofaa and Erin-ile people over a boundary dispute.
According to the Iyaloja, the activities of the security men are affecting the commercial life of residents.
She said, “This peaceful protest we are embarking upon is not between Offa and Erin-Ile. It is between the community members and the security personnel deployed to maintain peace between the two communities.
“The security personnel have abandoned where the government asked them to stay and maintain peace. They are supposed to stay between Offa and Erin-Ile boundaries. They have started harassing and intimidating residents of Offa communities.
“They have disrupted our commercial activities. The security men were drafted to Offa and Erin-Ile in the aftermath of another communal clash that erupted between the two neighbouring communities in March this year.
“The overzealousness of the security personnel is only on Offa indigenes because the Special Adviser to Governor Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq is from Erin-Ile. It is a known fact that Offa and Erin-Ile have over the years been having a running battle over land issues.
“It. therefore. means the state government ought to have appointed a neutral person to be his special adviser on security matters. The security personnel have become one-sided and partisan to the detriment of Offa.
“We are not saying the government is backing them, but what the security agents are doing is too bad and harmful to our economy. People can no longer go about their normal business in and around the Federal Polytechnic area.”
