Governor ’Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, on Monday, inaugurated the state’s Security Task Force to tackle all forms of insecurity within the state.

The governor, while inaugurating the Task Force inside his office at the Agodi Secretariat, Ibadan, said that the committee will serve as the war room to tackle insecurity in the state.

He also stated that members of the committee have been carefully selected to provide quality service to the people of the state.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, indicated that members of the Task Force, which is chaired by Governor Makinde, include the Chief of Staff, Chief Bisi Ilaka; Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Chief Bayo Lawal; Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr. Wasiu Olatunbosun; Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Barr. Adeniyi Farinto and the commissioner for Special Duties, Hon. Funmilayo Orisadeyi.

Other members of the Task Force include: the Special Adviser to the governor on Security; CP Fatai Owoseni (Rtd), Executive Assistant on Security, CP Sunday Odukoya (Rtd), DG Operation Burst, Col. Oladipo Ajibola (Rtd) and the Commander of the Oyo State Security Network Agency codenamed Amotekun.

The secretary of the Task Force is the Director, Special Services, Mr. Olayinka Jimoh.

Makinde said: “You are welcome to the war room created by the government of Oyo State. This became imperative because of the challenges that we are apparently facing, security-wise. At the EXCO meeting of last Tuesday, we set up a State Security Task Force.

“I will be chairing the Task Force. This is our inaugural meeting and it is similar to the Task Force we set up when COVID-19 just broke out. We are supposed to be on top of the security situation almost on a daily basis, so the scheduled meetings for this Task Force will hold on a weekly basis and you should expect to be briefed once we are done with our weekly meeting.

“We also hope that we can call an emergency meeting anytime depending on the security situation. The members have been carefully selected. The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, for instance, is supposed to be our link with our traditional institutions and with the local government areas, stakeholders at the local government levels.

“We want to take this opportunity to ask for support from our people, from the traditional institution to our political stakeholders and also the different ethnic nationalities that are residents of Oyo State. We do not support ethnic profiling.

“We are looking for criminals and we know that if we are not careful, what goes around will come around.

“We have been hearing about the kidnapping of school children and their teachers and we do not want that to happen in Oyo State. So, we are seeking for every support that we can get.”

Similarly, the Special Adviser on security, CP Fatai Owoseni (rtd), who briefed newsmen alongside the Chief of Staff and the Commissioner for Information, said: “At the conclusion of the first meeting of the Security War Room Task Force convoked by His Excellency, Governor Makinde, certain decisions were made.

“Firstly, it is important to state that at no point do we want to, by action or omission, supplant the activities of the security agencies in the state as they operate. We want to work in a way that is complementary to whatever it is they do.

“Secondly, we do intend to identify the various communities, contacts, and markets in our states in order that we can enumerate who is where and who we need to contact.

“Thirdly, the Governor also stated that there is a need to have a meeting with all our traditional rulers within the week because all security matters without them will probably come to naught.

“We explored the issue of voluntary policing, in which we can bring in all other, or particularly, the non-state actors to join hands in what is a complete and total architecture.

“The issue of our entry points and our state is being regarded as being a bit porous, we reckoned that there will be checkpoints at the major entry and exit points of the state, and that will be integrated into the state control room and general state security architecture.

“We intend to further regulate commercial motorcycle riders in the state so as to know who they are, what they are doing from time to time. We will do that after a meeting with them. We will have another meeting same time next week.”

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