A former deputy director-general of the State Security Service, Brig.-Gen. Kunle Togun (retd.) has said that the Oyo State’s handling of the kidnapping incident in Oriire was very wrong.
Toogun, who was chairman of Amotekun in the state, explained that “When the Oriire incident happened, the Commissioner for Information in Oyo State released a statement saying all the bandits had been cornered and there was no escape for them. I replied on social media that Oyo State was playing politics with human lives. If they had truly been cornered, did they need to announce it publicly? That may have triggered the terrorists’ decision to slaughter one of the hostages, as seen in the video. If the bandits realise they have been cornered, they will do anything to escape. If they had truly been cornered, would you have gone in there to rescue those captured? Had you brought them out?
Speaking in an interview with The Punch, Toogun who was director of military intelligence also spoke about demands by Agbekoya members for government empowerment to tackle insurgency.
“I know how Agbekoya started. I was at the university when it started. Can the current generation do what those old men did? The police were sent to arrest the old Agbekoya members. Before they got close, the police uniforms became stuck to their bodies; soldiers were sent there, and the same thing happened. Can the current Agbekoya do what the older Agbekoya did? During those inter-tribal wars, our forefathers did not use dane guns to fight. They used nature. In the history of the Ijaiye war, in which Saki participated, Saki used rain and thunder against the enemies; they did not use dane guns. There were places where they used bees to disperse enemies. I am working on this with Oke-Ogun hunters, and we are recording some breakthroughs. It is beyond Agbekoya demanding weapons.”
He said there are peculiarities to the insurgency affecting the South-West compared to what is happening in zones like the North-West.
“It is a Fulani agenda. So, it is the same thing. Kidnapping and cattle rustling started because when Buhari won the election, those taking care of these imported bandits were abandoned. I am coordinating hunters in Oke-Ogun and looking for traditional means to confront these people. We are going to defend the entire Yoruba land when we achieve the needed breakthrough. Will I become a slave in Yoruba land?
