By Oluwakemi Ishola
A non-partisan grassroot awareness forum, Peoples’ Awareness Initiative (PAI) has announced a stay at home order for residents of Akinyele local government area of Oyo State on September 1st, if the Nigerian police fail to re-arrest Sunday Shodipe on or before the 31st of August of this year.
PAI, in a statement signed by Dr. Abiola Aranni and made available to the Pacesetter News on Wednesday, also demanded that the police should provide to the public detailed information about how and those involved in the escape of Shodipe from lawful custody after his initial arrest.
The statement reads:
”An organized non-partisan, grass-root awareness forum, Peoples’ Awareness Initiatives (PAI) has been forced to decry in strongest term, the incessant killings of innocent souls and conspiracy that enveloped the leaky security situation since the inception of assassination outbreak in May 2020 within Akinyele Local Government Area (LGA).
“Definitely, the manner and sequence of the attacks; the seeming perfect coordination of all the assaults, inability of the security agencies to curb the ceaseless brutal murder, the escape of the suspects from the police custody, ungracious immunity of arrest to some fingered VIPs; all these give much to ponder on the seeming invincibility of the syndicate and how these assailants are well connected with the security agencies.
“Ahh! The people of AKinyele LGA are breaking out in a cold sweat and could no longer condone making the community a hot ‘spot’ for ritual killers where brutal murders mostly for rituals and other circumstances will be happening almost on daily basis. It’s potentially risky to live or move around any time within Akinyele LGA. No doubt, we are totally out of our depth.
“How does Oyo State Government curb this disaster as soon as possible? Can we rely on these security operatives anymore? Do you want to allow these criminals (wolf in sheep’s clothing) to kill us all? Are we animals? How do we manage seeing our next neighbours been raped and or axed to death for rituals almost on daily basis? The fear of who is the next victim is the beginning of wisdom for all of us. Are we not doomed?
“People of Akinyele LGA are still in the heat of the moment in spite of the public outcry on the gruesome murder of:
“Barakat Bello at Akinyele Town (May 31, 2020),
Azeezat Somuyiwa at L-Adisa area (June 5, 2020), Grace Osiague at Idi-Ori area (June 13, 2020), Mujeeb Tirimisiyu at Tose area (June 23, 2020), Olusayo Fagbemi Aisha at Sasa area (June 24, 2020), Dolapo Bamidele and her mother Deola Bamidele who were cold-bloodedly macheted at Alaja area (June 29, 2020), Another woman, name unknown who was killed at Elekuru area (July 1, 2020)
Omotoke Grace at Onikoro area Moniya (July 20, 2020).
“Disgustingly, Mrs Oladejo Funmilayo was freshly gruesomely murdered at Onikeke village, Akinyele town on 13th of August, 2020 after the purported escape of the suspects, Mr Sunday Sodipe and his reemergence around Onikeke area where the last brutal murder later occurred.
“Earlier on, precisely on 17th of July, the suspect, Mr Sunday Sodipe and his purported master, Mr Adedokun Yunusa (herbalist) were paraded by the police and they confessed their involvement in the serial manslaughters which was covered by the media including the social media.
“So, PAI on behalf of the good people of Akinyele LGA hereby charged the Nigerian Police whose custody Mr Sunday Sodipe was kept to reproduce and re-parade him on or before 31st of August, 2020 (two weeks from now).
“PAI also demands explanations from the Nigerian Police to the public the circumstances that orchestrated his supposed escape and why other fingered VIPs who are allegedly backing the murder syndicate are not paraded and detained up till now.
“In the light of the failure of the Police to meet the above demand, PAI thus calls for ‘a stay at home order on Tuesday, 1st of September, 2020’ as a civil way of registering our protest over the leaky security situation in Akinyele LGA.
“So, if unfortunately this exercise would occur in the event of failure of the security agency concerned to bring Mr Sunday Sodipe and his other cohorts to justice, the good people of Akinyele would observe ‘a stay at home order’ on Tuesday when:There will be no market activities within Akinyele LGAN, No transportation except for emergency situations within Akinyele LGA,No social activities within Akinyele LGA.
“Conclusively, we wish to state categorically clear at this juncture that this call is not in any way meant to invoke any security threat to the public but to charge the concerned authority and the Oyo State Government in particular to swing into serious action in putting lasting solution to the ceaseless killings in our state particularly in AKinyele LGA.
“The primary responsibility of government is to provide security for all and sundry, irrespective of any consideration. Where this fails, despondency may set in, leading to a loss of confidence in government. It is imperative that people should not be allowed to take recourse to self-help in an attempt to secure their lives and properties.
“Your Excellency, the Governor of Oyo Stae, Engr. Oluseyi Makinde, you owe the people of Akinyele Local Government Area, and by extension all residents of Oyo State the duty of ensuring that they live, transact business and interrelate under a secure, peaceful and harmonious environment. However, the current security situation within the local government area cannot guarantee any of these.”
