Kunle Adelabu
-May be launched May 4
Chairman, Ikorodu Division Chieftaincy Committee and Ayangbure of Ikorodu Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Oba (Engr.) Kabir Adewale Shotobi, has stated that the Joint Taskforce (JTF), under the Ikorodu Division Peace Initiative LTD/GTE (IDPILG), was established to assist conventional security agencies in curbing cultism and other criminalities in Ikorodu.
The royal father also revealed that the community local security initiative is scheduled to be launched on May 4 with the Lagos Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo – Olu, in attendance.
Oba Shotobi, who also extended an invitation to Brigadier General A.S.M. Wase, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 9th Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Maryland, Lagos, made the revelation during the visit of the army officer and his team to his palace in Ikorodu, on Tuesday (yesterday).
Ayangbure also took the GOC and members of his team on tour of the cars and patrols vehicles bought for the operations of the JTF in curbing crimes.
“We have brought our local vigilance teams into a joint task force in our own way of securing our community because we have been facing pockets of crime. There has been a time when we contended with ‘Badoo’ which was a kind of ritual attack on the community but with the efforts of all the security agencies and our local vigilance teams, we were able to subdue and curtail it”, Oba Shotobi said.
“We have also been facing cultism activities which is a major issue. These cultists have been engaging in killings against themselves and it was almost going out of hand.
“They were killing one another and fomenting trouble for the entire community”.
He said that the realization that military and police alone cannot tackle the activities of the cultists and other criminals because of the terrain, informed the formation of the local vigilance into a joint taskforce to complement the efforts of the conventional security organisations in Ikorodu.
“During this period, we found out that the military and police couldn’t handle the situation alone and that necessitated the formation of a joint taskforce of all our local vigilance teams under the Ikorodu Division Peace Initiative LTD/GTE (IDPILG) which is under the Chairmanship of Chief Adewunmi Ogunsanya, the Chairman of DSTV and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) who has done a lot for the initiative”, Oba Shotobi said.
“He has purchased 10 cars, 4 Hilux vehicles and 50 motorbikes for the operations of the joint task force in curtailing the activities of these cultists and other crimes.
“We have more than 200 personnel who have passed underwent training at the Police Command and we have been deploying them for the operations”.
The royal father also said that the Ikorodu Division is working towards having the Governor of the state in attendance for the formal inauguration of the joint task force, while extending an invitation to the GOC himself.
“We may likely formally inaugurate the activities of this security outfit initiated by the community on May 4 and we are extending our invitation to you to be present on that day”, the royal father said.
“We are working towards having Mr Governor (Governor of Lagos State) to witness the formal inauguration and he has promised to grace the occasion”, he added.
