Lucky Aiyedatiwa has said governors in the South-West are strengthening collaboration to tackle insecurity across the region amid rising cases of kidnapping and violent crime.
The governor spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today shortly after a Federal High Court in Abuja convicted four persons over the 2022 attack on St Francis Catholic Church.
“What I am saying in essence is that we are talking to ourselves; we are working,” Aiyedatiwa said while responding to questions on the preparedness of South-West governors to confront insecurity.
He disclosed that governors in the region recently met in Ibadan, Oyo State, to discuss joint strategies for improving security coordination, particularly through the regional security outfit, Amotekun.
“The other day we had a meeting in Oyo State, in Ibadan, where we tried to map out what we need to do together to secure the South-West geopolitical zone,” he said.
Aiyedatiwa noted that Amotekun currently operates in Ondo, Oyo, Ekiti, and Ogun states, while Lagos has its own security structure.
The governor’s remarks come amid growing concerns over insecurity in parts of the South-West following the abduction of students and teachers in Oyo State and recent kidnapping incidents in Ekiti State.
According to him, Ondo State’s geographical location makes it especially vulnerable because it shares boundaries with several states from other regions.
“For us in Ondo State and other South-West states, we stand as a gateway to the South-West because we border a lot of other states from other parts of the country,” he stated.
“A lot of engagements are going on in our forest reserves that do not come to the public in the news. So much work is being done.”
He added that security operations are often not visible to the public unless there is a breakdown.
“Security is one responsibility that leaders carry that is not so visible to everybody. It is only when there is a lapse that it will look as if the government has not been doing enough,” he said.
Speaking on the 2022 Owo church attack, Aiyedatiwa welcomed the conviction and death sentence handed to four suspects by Justice Emeka Nwite.
The attack on the church in Owo left more than 40 worshippers dead and several others injured after gunmen opened fire during a service.
Reacting to the judgment, the governor described it as “a victory for the rule of law.”
“For us in Ondo State, we are happy that this judgment is a victory for the rule of law and for all the victims attacked, not just in Owo, Ondo State, but all who have been attacked at one time or the other by these terrorists,” he said.
