A socio-political organisation, Yagba Action Group (YAG), has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Ododo to urgently intervene in the incessant attacks, killings, and kidnappings that have become the order of the day in the Yagba area of Okunland in Kogi State.

The pressure group of professionals based in Kogi State made the appeal on Sunday in a statement issued by the leadership of the group. It also called on all security agencies to pay special attention and focus on the Yagba axis of Kogi West Senatorial District, an area otherwise known for peace but now turned into an epicenter of banditry and kidnapping by criminals on a daily basis.

The group’s position comes on the heels of last Friday’s murder of two young men in Ogbe, Yagba West Council, by men identified as Fulanis.

A spokesperson for the Local Hunters reported the ambush and brutal killings of two people around the general area of Oyi River before ascending Ogbe Town on Friday.

YAG noted with concern that the surge in criminal activities in the area calls for immediate action by the state government and federal security agencies to prevent escalation.

In a statement by its spokesperson, Dickson Adeyanju, the group recalled, “Ogbe, the location of the latest killings, is a border town to Koro, Kwara State, where a monarch and a retired Army General, Segun Aremu, was murdered in February this year.

“Last Tuesday, kidnappers numbering about 10, dressed in black and identified as Fulani, invaded Ejiba Central Market, where two residents were abducted, including a prominent businesswoman. In January this year, more than six people were kidnapped within 48 hours around Isanlu, the headquarters of Yagba East Council. Three people lost their lives between Idofin and Isanlu in an attempt to escape from the kidnappers,” it said.

YAG commended Governor Ododo for his efforts in making lives and property safe in the state, including the donation of 120 vehicles and 44 motorcycles to boost community policing initiatives in all 21 Local Government Areas of the state.

“We are using this medium to appeal to the IGP and the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) to work with authorities in Kogi State to rise to the occasion and curb the spate of kidnapping and banditry in Yagbaland.

“YAG condemns the current attacks, annihilation, and kidnapping of our citizens, especially the event in Ogbe, Yagba West, as reported over the weekend. Allowing this barbaric act to fester will automatically turn our area, known for peace, into the epicenter of banditry and kidnapping. We align ourselves with calls by other prominent Okun groups and the political leadership on the Federal Government to act on these terrible acts against our people. Our sincere sympathy also goes to our Ogbe people, who are mostly affected by this latest act against Yagba people,” YAG added. (Nigerian Tribune)

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