TheCable

Seyi Makinde and Dapo Abiodun, governors of Oyo and Ogun, respectively, have agreed on measures to tackle banditry and other security concerns affecting the two states.

At a joint security meeting held on Wednesday in Abeokuta, the Ogun capital, both governors spoke on the shared objectives of ensuring peace and security in their states.

According to them, the criminal activities in the communities along the border areas require a review of the current security architecture.

In a communique issued after the meeting, the governors agreed to carry out a threat assessment of the border areas, deploy CCTV cameras on interstate highways, and set up a joint security task force.

They also agreed to harmonise voluntary and informal security outfits to fight kidnapping, banditry, and ritual killings in the states.

Membership of the joint task force will be drawn from various security agencies in each state, and there will be patrol operations in boundary areas and other communities to improve security generally.

Speaking at the meeting, Makinde said it is important to look beyond political party affiliation in order to address insecurity.

“My brother and I have an absolute commitment to the security of lives and property within the two states. We have experiences across the states and what this meeting will do for us is to be able to share these experiences and look at those decisions we can take jointly to improve the security situation in our states,” he said.

“I believe in state police but we are not able to get that at this point in time because of the constitutional hurdles we have to pass through.

“We all aligned to get the Amotekun in all the states in south-west and I am glad that Ogun state is now operationalising it.”

On his part, Abiodun said the joint operations involving the two states are important as part of efforts to effectively tackle security threats.

“This collaboration is peculiar not just because Oyo state is our neighbour, but the largest by land mass of the six south-western states and the political capital of the zone,” he said.

“Thus, whatever happens in Oyo state could easily have ripple effects on the other five states.

“We must jointly and quickly find ways to cooperate, collaborate and find solutions to the various security challenges in these communities. This is why today’s bilateral meeting is very timely.”