The Osun State Governor Gboyega Oyetola yesterday expressed concern over “the likely infiltration” of illegal miners and bandits displaced from Zamfara State, urging security agencies and traditional rulers to be on the alert to prevent all forms of criminality.
Governor Gboyega Oyetola spoke in Osogbo at a security sensitisation programme attended by traditional rulers, security operatives, civil society organisations and other stakeholders.
Some of the security chiefs at the meeting raised the alarm on the infiltration of mining sites in the state by some bandits and urged the traditional rulers to assist the security operatives so that the invaders do not have a foothold.
He said: “It has become imperative to put measures in place to checkmate the influx of displaced illegal miners to prevent the reverberation effect of the Zamfara State crisis in Osun.”
“If you rent out your house to a person who turns out to be a bandit, you will bear the consequence with him,” Oyetola warned landlords.
The governor urged traditional rulers to “work hard in the villages because illegal miners are gathering in remote areas of our state.”
He said: “The purpose of the stakeholders’ meeting is to sensitize the security stakeholders on the need to forestall possible influx of illegal miners and the attendant risks of kidnapping, killings, drug dealings, arms peddling and rape.
“The overall objective is to better secure our state, make our minerals-rich communities peaceful, make mining commercially viable and deliver development to our people.
“In a nation where securing our oil wealth has been a perennial challenge, ensuring that our state’s mineral wealth does not become a resource curse, is a task we must all embrace squarely.
“It is in light of this that we regard the recent ban on mining activities in Zamfara States as a potential threat to mining activities in our State, which is blessed with mining deposits in commercial quantity.
“We must not yield our state to bandits and aggressors. We must work together to secure our communities.
“Our security agencies must unleash their intelligence capacity to crack the activities of bandits. Bad elements must be made to face the music to serve as a deterrent to others.
“I appeal to our people to provide credible information to security agencies while the traditional and religious leaders, security agents, government agencies and leaders should be above board.
“There is a need to heavily fortify our minerals-rich communities to make them impregnable to external aggression and incursion”.
Daily Trust