The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba Land, Gani Adams has given back to Governor Samuel Ortom’s stance for citizens to bear licensed firearms.
He said this was important to strengthen self security.
Gani was speaking on behalf of the Aare Ona Kakanfo-in-Council following a meeting.
In a communiqué after the meeting, the body expressed concern over rising insecurity in Nigeria.
Members of the council called on South-West Governors to direct Yoruba to obtain license to bear firearms.
They also said that President Muhammadu Buhari has failed to guarantee the safety of lives and property of the masses.
The communique signed by Babajide Tanimowo, Atoloye Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, said credible intelligence at it’s disposal indicates “the infiltration of terrorists and killer Fulani herdsmen in the region.”
It cited the revelation that suspected ISIS operatives have positioned themselves in Niger State via Ibarubaland and within the Oke-ogun corridor of Oyo State.
It reads further,“The intel also revealed that about 500 power bikes and assorted armour belonging to the terrorists have been physically sighted along the abandoned Lusada route moving towards Sokoto, from Igbo-ora in Oyo State.
“The Council, therefore, enjoins all Southwest governors, as well as the Governors of Kwara and Kogi States, to emulate the Governor of Benue State, Mr Samuel Ortom, by directing their citizens to apply for gun license for self-defense against the marauding terrorists and killer herdsmen.”
The government was advised to take urgent steps to tighten Nigeria’s entry points, especially the porous borders with West African neighbours.
The statement called for an immediate halt to all ethnic and genocidal killings in Nigeria, insisting that no nation prospers on the blood of the innocent.
“President Muhammadu Buhari, rise to the occasion and put a stop to the senseless killings in Southern Kaduna, Benue, Plateau and Taraba States, among others. Stop this senseless bloodletting now.
“The clamor by the Yoruba for effective and adequate security architecture for the region goes beyond Amotekun or any form of self-help. It is all about the preservation of our heritage as a race, our way of life, our patrimony, our culture and traditions”.
President Buhari was also advised to embark on an equitable restructuring of federating units before October 1, 2020, for peace to resign in the country.
It condemned alleged attempts by the government to “smuggle the rejected RUGA policy with its toxic provision to annex the ancestral lands of indigenous people with the active connivance of the 9th National Assembly.”
The communique also condemned “the outrageous intention” of the government to mortgage the ports in Lagos to China for a needless credit facility.
The statement emphasized need for the Yoruba to come together for the good of the region.
