The massive structure that was discovered to have been housing illegal detainees at Ojoo axis of Ibadan, the Oyo state capital has been ordered for demolition by Governor Seyi Makinde.
This is also as the Governor has vowed to prosecute all those behind the heinous act, adding that it was wrong for certain individuals to have used a mosque as a cover-up for crime and criminalities.
The Governor made the remarks on Tuesday at the Olaoore Central Mosque, Ojoo where over 259 detainees were released on Monday during an operation led by the state Commissioner of Police Shina Olukolu.
Makinde who visited the venue in company of top government functionaries before going to the campsite where the released victims are being resuscitated by the government, said it was an eyesore and unbelievable that such facility could be going on in such an open and exposed area of the capital city.
He said, “What we have seen is something that we all have to condemn and this shouldn’t be happening in a modern environment. You cant use a mosque as façade to perpetrate this kind of evil.
“Yes we have marked the entire structure for demolition, we have here the ministry of lands and urban planning and ministry of health and justice. The government will do everything that is humanly possible to ensure that this kind of thing is stamped out in our environment.
“But, there are houses around here, these are people, they see something, ideally, they should say something because this kind of things couldn’t have been going on without all of these people, particular residences around here, without them knowing about it. So, they should have reported this thing to the authorities and maybe we would have unravelled this a long time ago.
“And also, we want to encourage our people, the government, the parents and even family members, if you need to rehabilitate member s of your family that are not behaving well, we have government institutions that can do that and we are trying to rehabilitate those places for the people of Oyo state.
“So, whatever is necessary, looking at the laws of our land regarding this kind of thing, we will ensure, we get this place away from those people doing this kind of things within the ambit of the law. And also you have the law enforcement agencies here, all those involved are going to be prosecuted to the full extent of our law.
“For the victims, we have mobilized the ministry of women affairs and social inclusion and the social welfare agencies there. First we need to have immediate palliative for them and then we have to look at the deeper issues and how to resettle them and reunite them with their families, we are not going to leave them alone at this point.”
While addressing the victims at the temporary resettlement camp at Sanyo area, Makinde assured the people that his government is on the matter to ensure that those behind the illegal operations of the facility will be prosecuted with the full wrath of the law.
He disclosed that 22 of the victims are currently receiving medical attention at Adeoyo hospital as a result of their critical health condition, assuring that “we need to get to the root of this matter, the security agencies will investigate. Anyone found innocent will be released. You need to cooperate with government for us to get to the root of the matter.”
