Auxiliary: I will bring criminals to book, says Ajimobi
The governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has said that as the Chief Security Officer of the state, he is not only interested in the peace and tranquility of the state, he is interested in bringing criminals who terrorize the peace and order of the state to book.
He made this known in a release issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Dr. Festus Adedayo, against the backdrop of the arrest of Mr. Mukaila Lamidi, a.k.a. Auxiliary, in Ibadan by the police recently.
“I swore to the good people of Oyo State in May 2011 that I would protect them from the hands of rampaging criminals. I swore that political affiliations would not colour my judgment. I detest crime and criminals and that is why ours is about the first government that would openly advertise disconnect with thugs and violence. We will continue to do this in the interest of the great people of our state,” the governor said.
In this regard, the governor has mandated the security agencies in the state to step up the search for every wanted criminal and apprehend their collaborators, no matter how highly placed they may be in society.
He expressed delight at the arrest of Auxiliary, said to be one of the most dreaded thugs in the state, saying that it was a testimony to the zeal, competence and determination of the police authorities to rid the state of violent elements.
The police had in June, 2011 placed a ransom of half a million naira on Auxiliary and the former Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Lateef Oloruntoki, a.k.a. Tokyo, over the murder of the National President of the Nigeria Medical Students Association, Bala Usman Shanono, a 500-Level medical student of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, who was caught, along with other travelers, in a crossfire in Iwo Road, Ibadan, while waiting for night buses to their various destinations.
The duo, chieftains of the NURTW, were also declared wanted for their alleged roles in the bloody clash between members of their factions which claimed dozens of innocent lives, along with the wanton destruction of property.
“At a moment like this when the whole country is apprehensive of violence and violent individuals, especially the mindless killings of the Boko Haram sect, unauthorized ownership of guns and other criminal weaponry should bother every peace-loving citizen. This is why, as the Chief Security Officer of Oyo State, I am pleased that Auxiliary, whom police authorities said they have evidence linking him to gun-running, has been arrested,” Ajimobi said.
The governor reiterated his shock that a top Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in the state, Senator Lekan Balogun, who is also the Osi Olubadan, should descend so low as to be the spokesman of the wanted Auxiliary.
“All peace-loving citizens of the state should ask Balogun what the connect is between a holder of that highly exalted office of the Osi Olubadan and a wanted dreaded criminal. Right now, we should put partisan politics aside and let us savour the peace we have had in Oyo State in the last three years. Whether we are PDP, APC or Accord Party, we must all say ‘never again’ to that era of political thuggery, violence and brigandage that was the order of the day in our state before now,” the governor said.
