Oodua group issues ultimatum to herdsmen in Kwara

Kehinde Akinpelu, Ilorin

The Oodua Progressives Care Initiative (OPCI) in Kwara state has given the Fulani herdsmen living in the state a one-week ultimatum to fish out their members responsible for the insecurity in the state in the interest of peace.

While expressing readiness to use everything within its power to tackle the security challenges facing the state, the OPCI President, Alhaji Moruff Olarewaju, gave the ultimatum during a peace meeting held with the leaders of the Development Association of Nigeria and Miyetti Allah Castle Breeders Association in Ilorin.

Olarewaju, who also sounded a notice of warning to Fulani herders allegedly engaging in criminal activities such as kidnapping , banditry , robbery among others to vacate the state immediately or be made to face the full wrath of law.

Expressing worry about the spate of kidnapping and other forms of criminalities in the state, the OPCI leader said that one of the major objectives of the OPCI since its creation in 2017 is to protect the lives and property of Yorubas.

He said: “We called for this peace meeting in order to find a lasting solution to the issue of security breakdown such as kidnapping, armed robbery and all sort of criminal activities in the state.

“Over the years, Kwara had been adjudged to be the most peaceful state in Nigeria not until recently, when the so called Fulani herders invaded our land and started kidnapping our people.

“It is quite unfortunate that some unscrupulous elements tried to find their way to the state through their collaborators to launch attacks on innocent citizens along some highways and we would not allow them to destroy our state

“We would use everything within our reach to ensure that those bad eggs among the Fulani herders are flushed out of the state. We are a law -abiding group.

We are working in collaboration with the police, Department of State Services, civil defence and all other paramilitary agencies to make sure we curb the menace of insecurity in the state.

“We want to sound a notice of warning to these Fulani herders to desist from terrorising our people and the need for the good ones among them to fish out the bad eggs among them within one week in the interest of peace.”

He therefore, urged his men to act within the armpit of law, urging them to comport themselves orderly while on duty, saying security issue is very sensitive