Governor Seyi Makinde has revealed that story that Amotekun operatives killed 7 Fulani herdsmen was circulated to cause ethnic tension.
According to Makinde, who was quoted to have spoken while briefing newsmen at the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan, on Wednesday, he warned that some individuals who want Amotekun to fail had been assailing it with all sorts of misinformation and fake news.
He maintained that the community policing model remains the only way to solve the insecurity challenge in the country.
“For the past six weeks that the Amotekun was deployed, we have seen various reports in the news. Most of these reports are good and a few are bad. And of the bad, quite a number are false information and fake news.
“For example, some newspapers carried the news that Amotekun killed 7 fulani herdsmen in Ibarapa. “Such a story was circulated to stoke ethnic tension. Even some reputable media fell for this. Whereas, the real story was that Amotekun worked with the community members, including genuine herdsmen to flush out bad elements in that zone.
“It has, therefore, become necessary to put the good people of Oyo State on high alert.
“Each time you see a news item, you want to ask yourself if it is believable or just some no-good-people at work. “I have to tell you that there are people among us that don’t want Amotekun to succeed and they will use lies and disinformation to push their agenda. We must realise where we are coming from and where we really want to be.
“Community policing is the way forward and we have to make it work. If somebody says he is abused by Amotekun and cannot pinpoint the Amotekun personnel in such an area, you are probably not from that neighborhood and you are a fake news carrier.
“So, as I always say, I know we do have trust-deficit between the people and the authorities, and this makes it easier to think the worst of people in authority. But we should not cut our nose to spite our face. We must find a balance so that we do not turn the people trying to protect us to our enemies.”
The governor charged anyone with a genuine case against the members of the Amotekun Corps to come forward with their grievances by using any of the feedback channels put in place by the government.
The governor equally warned traditional rulers and village heads against allocating lands to undocumented foreigners, stating that some undocumented individuals had been contributing to insecurity in the state.
He added that the state will soon provide documentation for these individuals and especially miners and motorcycle/tricycle operators, saying: “So, we are going to be providing some documentation for them. Those who work in the mining site will be documented and a Task Force is being set up to do this.
“I also understand that they also have a breakaway faction in Oyo State. Well, we will be reaching out to the two of them to ensure that we get them registered. So, this will go a long way to address how some people are hiding under their platform to commit crimes.
