
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, said that his administration will convene an expanded Security Council meeting in the state, which would include traditional rulers to deliberate on how to prevent attacks on communities in the state.
He made this known on Wednesday at the inauguration of a Mini-Mapo Hall built by the Ibadan South-West Traditional Rulers Council led by former Governor Rashidi Ladoja.
This came after the massacre of worshippers by some gunmen at the St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo in Ondo State.
Makinde said perpetrators behind Owo attack did not arrived in the town on the day they launched the attack, saying they probably had been in the town to survey and plan how to unleash terror on the innocent people.
He expressed believe that such attack could be foiled if traditional rulers and community leaders were incorporated into the security network in each community because they served as the eyes and ears for security agencies and the government.
The Owo attack occurred a year after gunmen invaded Igangan, a community in Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State, killing many and razing the Palace of the Asigangan of Igangan.
Makinde posited that traditional rulers could be very useful in preventing attack in their domains if they were recognized and given the opportunity to play such roles.
Makinde said, “Three days ago, I was in Owo because of the security situation there and I told my colleague that those who perpetrated the attack would have come to the town to carry out reconnaissance before the day of the attack.
“It is only when we collaborate with our traditional rulers and chiefs that we can find a solution to such attacks.
“These people will know when new faces appear in their communities and report them first. It takes long before the government will hear of many things like that but if the traditional rulers are informed, they will tell us what they see in their communities.
“I told my Ondo State counterpart that the moment I returned to Ibadan, I would call an expanded Security Council Meeting and call all our traditional rulers there to deliberate on how to stop these kinds of attacks.”