63 Zamfara youths intercepted for mining in Osun

A set of 63 youths from the North have been intercepted on their way to mining sites in Ilesha and Ile-Ife. They were stopped in Ikire, Osun State.

The miners whose ages range between 16 and 23 years were packed and hidden in a truck. They were stopped by men of Amotekun Corps on enforcement of border closure in Ikire town.

The Director-General of Amotekun Corps in Osun state, Mr Amitolu Shittu, explained that another 10 youths were stopped after they disembarked from the vehicle that conveyed them to the state.

Shittu said the youths identified themselves as labourers who worked in mining sites in Zamfara State. He added that the youths were heading to mining sites  in Ilesha and Ile-Ife.

“Our men at a roadblock in Ikire intercepted the truck where 53 youths from Zamfara were hiding, and while they were being checked, another 10 youths from the same state who were about to walk past the roadblock  were also stopped."

Amotekun : Oyo assembly demands immediate launch

The Oyo State House of Assembly has urged Governor Seyi Makinde to okay the launch of Amotekun Corps. The House said that this is necessary due to the rising rate of insecurity in the state.

The state lawmakers said that the call became imperative to checkmate criminals marauding as herdsmen in some parts of the state.

The House, while reacting to the killings of three persons in the Akinyele Local Government Area of the state and destruction of some farmlands in Ogbomoso community by some yet-to-be-identified bandits, said the development was worrisome.

The Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin, stated,  

“The sooner Amotekun Corps is constituted, the better for the state in terms of security.”

The House expressed satisfaction on the recent nomination of Gen. Kunle Togun (retd.) and Col. Olayanju Olayinka (retd.), as chairman and commandant of the corps respectively, but wondered why there were delays in the formation of the Amotekun Board that would handle the recruitment of personnel.

Isiaka Kazeem, who represents Oyo East/Oyo West had, through a motion, drawn the attention of the Assembly members to the nvasion of villages in the Akinyele LGA by herdsmen resulting in killing of some persons.

He noted that the police and other security agencies in the state were overstretched, thereby leaving the residents of the state in danger.

The Majority Leader of the House, Sanjo Adedoyin, lamented that the state government was foot-dragging on the takeoff of Amotekun Corps in the state.