The Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, said the protracted attacks on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway were not unexpected, recalling that he had raised the alarm on the imminent attacks much earlier.

This was just as the Yoruba generalissimo sadly noted that the major road linking the South West to the other parts of the country was becoming too volatile for travellers.

It would be recalled that ex-Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan (UI), Prof. Adigun Agbaje and students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnics, among others were abducted last Friday along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

Adams expressed this concern on Monday in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Kehinde Aderemi, stating further that the Lagos -Ibadan Expressway was too strategic to the South West region and the country as a whole.

According to him, the South West Security Stakeholders Group (SSSG)under his leadership, had earlier raised the alarm last year, while seeking partnership with the security agencies on the need to provide the needed surveillance along the road.

He said the alarm raised by the SSSG was contained in a letter dated November 4, 2022, which, according to him, was forwarded to both the Oyo State governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde and his Ogun State counterpart, Mr. Dapo Abiodun respectively; are the Commissioners of Police and the Director of State Security Services (DSS) in the two states.

Adams maintained also that the alarm came from the intelligence report at the group’s disposal, which he said had been neglected by the security agencies.

“It is sad that you find yourself in a situation where you feel helpless resulting from the lackadaisical attitudes of the security agencies to the security challenges affecting us in the South West.

“The SSSG had severally offered to assist the security agencies in curtailing the security challenges along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Our intention is to partner with the police patrol team in ensuring that the strategic road is safe for travellers.

“The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is very strategic to the South West and Nigeria and it will be disastrous for us to ignore the road, making terrorists and kidnappers kings of the most important road in Nigeria, even at the expense of travellers,” he stated.

The Yoruba generalissimo, however, gave the assurance that the group was ready to partner with the police to secure the road, adding that it would also continue its surveillance work in ensuring that the region was safe.

“Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has been volatile for travellers, with several cases of kidnapping on the increase with police officers killed, ex-UI Deputy Vice Chancellor, and students kidnapped as gunmen had turned the route into a haven for terrorists and kidnappers.

“We are ready to flush out terrorists and the kidnappers from their hideouts along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway within two months. We are also ready to partner with the security agencies on surveillance, so as to curtail the spate of insecurity across the region,” he said. (Nigerian Tribune)

Update news