Governor Seyi Makinde has stated that the Oyo state government must be aware before security operatives carry out any operation in the state.
The Governor said this following the invasion of Igangan by men of the Nigeria Customs Service NCS). Makinde revealed that he will hold on to the firearm seized during the invasion until the federal government address the issue.
The operation led to the death of commandant of the Oyo State Security Network Agency, popularly known as Amotekun. Also, the operation was repelled by the local security thinking the NCS were herdsmen.
However the NCS later revealed that operatives chased smugglers to the area, leading to a gun battle between the local and the agency.
Reacting to the death of the local security operatives, Makinde stated that the deaths could have been avoided if the Oyo state government was pre-informed about the operation.
He Said;
“On security, most of the data in the past months shows that things are now improving. The Igangan incident, some days ago, was only falsified by some people who were saying that Fulani herdsmen had invaded Igangan again. The truth is actually about the NCS and smugglers. They know each other.
“Customs officials were accused to have entered Igangan, which is not a border town. But we are working with federal authorities and they have arrested most of them.
“The gun that was collected is still with us. I said I won’t release it until I get the attention of the federal authorities.
“In the Constitution of Nigeria, Oyo State is a federating unit. We are not saying federal agencies should not carry out their operations here. But they must tell us; they must inform us. They may not disclose the details of the operation to us, but we must know about it.
“If we had known about the operation, we would have pre-informed the security detail in the town and those who died could have been alive. The Amotekun coordinator that died in Igboora would have still been alive today.
“How can you go operating in an unidentified vehicle in a town where the security tactics have been heightened? As they wanted to enter the town, they were confronted because we have heightened security in all of those places.
“So, we will keep appealing to them and to our people that false information won’t help anybody. Nobody will profit politically from the security issues we are faced with. It is our collective responsibility. The people will play their part and the government will play its own part.”
