The leadership of the Ebira people in Ondo State has urged caution in light of the alleged involvement of some youths of Ebira descent in crimes in the state.
According to the leadership, in order to successfully combat banditry and kidnapping, the fight against insecurity should not be politicized.
This was said by the Ebira people at a press conference held over the weekend in Akure, the capital of Ondo State.
With representatives from the 28 Local Government Areas of the state, they claimed that the press conference became necessary after a previous meeting called at the state government’s request in which they were accused of not putting their house in order in the area of security in the state.
In a communique read by Barrister Vincent Abiodun lmoru, they noted that Nigeria’s security challenges could not have gotten to its present alarming level if stakeholders had not been politicizing it and called for collaborative efforts to win the war against insecurity in the country.
They praised Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu for providing the clarification shortly after the list was made public by the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt Gen. Lucky Irabor, and specifically called attention to the inclusion of one Idris Ojo who was an escapee from the Kuje prison that was attacked on July 5, 2022.
They called on security agencies to always conduct thorough and verifiable investigations before going to the press as their intelligence gathering, investigations, and conclusions are always open for public evaluation and analysis.
They also revealed that they were not prepared in any way to support or defend any of their kinsmen arrested for crime instead report such persons to appropriate authorities.
After pleading with the Ondo state government to set up Amotekun Posts in some communities with a high Ebira population and recruit their interested youths for the security service, they issued a warning to politicians who have developed the practice of bringing Ebira youths from their state to Ondo State as political thugs, saying they are prepared to deal with such youths decisively.
They claimed that going forward, they will be compiling the information of all arrested suspected criminals of Ebira origin in the state for periodic presentation to their Paramount Ruler, the Ohinoyi of Ebira Land, Alhaji Ado Ibrahim for further tracing, invitation, and interrogation of their parents at the palace of their monarch in Okene, Kogi State.
They used the forum to announce the ban on all Ebira traditional festivals being held in any part of Ondo
