By OLAJIDE IDOWU

Gov. Gboyega Oyetola of Osun on Tuesday inaugurated a joint security taskforce to fight kidnapping, cultism, illegal mining and other crimes in the state.

Inaugurating the taskforce at the Government House in Osogbo, Oyetola said the initiative was part of the efforts of the state government to rid the state of crime and secure the lives and property of residents.

“Today’s flag-off crystallises our bottom-up approach to fighting crime as we have involved communities across our state to elicit inputs into our security architecture and operations.

“The joint task force is a collaboration of the army, police, airforce, Department of State Services, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and Immigration Service.

“It shall provide operational support for Amotekun to fight cultism, kidnapping, illegal mining and other related crimes.

“Security for us is a comprehensive initiative which includes economic, social, political and other spheres.

“The inclusion of illegal mining as a component of this joint taskforce is proof that we take our economic and industrial initiatives seriously.

“It is our desire to provide adequate security for our economic and investment programmes so that our vision for translating the state into an economic hub can be achieved.

“In furtherance of our huge investment in security as a way of achieving sustainable development, we shall fund this Joint Task Force to make it effective and functional, ” he said

He, however, charged personnel of the taskforce to go about their tasks with all sense of patriotism and integrity while working together as a team.

The governor also urged them to eschew all acts of corruption, high-handedness and executive recklessness.

Mr Johnson Kokumo, the Commissioner of Police in the state and chairman of the task force, commended the governor for the initiative, saying it would re-engineer security in the state.

Kokumo, who said there would be no hiding place for criminals in the state, urged residents to always provide security agents with information that would help them tackle crime. (NAN)

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