Osun govt addresses possibility of lifting curfew on Ifon, Ilobu communities

The Osun State Government has revealed that it may lift the curfew imposed on the Ifon and Ilobu communities following the recent communal crisis.

The curfew was imposed by the state government in the wake of violent clashes between the neighboring communities which left several dead, injured and millions of naira worth of properties destroyed.

The decision of the state government to lift the curfew contained in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi on Wednesday is due to the holy month of Ramadan which started on Monday.

“On Ifon/Ilobu, we must review and possibly lift the curfew in view of the Ramadan era, we need to redouble our attention to cultism clashes at Ilesa.

“I urge us to also pay attention to inner city kidnappings and burglary, The CP must take proactive measures on this.

We need to fully set up our Joint Task Force to fully man the state, we need a rapid response force.

The state government so revealed that it has adopted preemptive and proactive measures to secure the state.

The decision was reached after a security council meeting chaired by the State Governor Ademola Adeleke.

The statement released at the end of the meeting disclosed that the Council resolved among others to strengthen interagency intelligence sharing, the creation of a rapid response joint security task force and the strengthening of logistic support for security operations.

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“Other measures agreed to by the Council include integration of hunters and forest rangers into grassroots policing, strengthening the Safe School Initiative, eagle eye on the border regions especially Kwara/Osun, Osun/Ondo and Osun/Ekiti among others.”

The Governor also called for urgent precautionary actions adding that the reports of threats to peace and security within the state school system and rural farm communities.

We must review safety and security measures in our schools.

The Safe School Initiative must be well implemented, we must work with hunters and forest rangers to safeguard our forests and border towns.

“We are also initiating a reform of the Amotekun force, we want the force to be more efficiently run and managed.”

The state government has earlier raised alarm over reports of threats to peace and security within the state school system and rural farm communities.