The Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun has been urged to engage
stakeholders in the bid to put an end to the heartless killing of youths that has
been going on in the state for months.

The call was made by a renowned youth group in the state, Gateway Progressive
Youths, who expressed concern over the increasing rate of killings which they
described as barbaric.

This was contained in a press statement made available to newsmen by the
Director of Publicity, Olamide David, in Abeokuta, the state capital.

David expressed dismay at the confidence with which these acts of violence are carried out in a state that is known for enjoying uninterrupted peace for many years.

Responding to questions, the Coordinator of the group, Olufemi Bashorun said that the group had formally written to the Governor, with hopes of productive actions to put a stop to the heartless killings going on in the state.

He noted that nobody deserved to die in the manner that youths in the state are
being killed, adding that the government and security agencies in the state need
to intensify their efforts to ensure the safety of lives in the state.

According to him, ‘The sad losses of lives that were witnessed in different parts
of the State over the past few weeks are heart-touching, frustrating and to say the least, unpardonable.

‘The Government of Prince Dapo Abiodun needs to rise up to its responsibility
of protecting the lives of citizens wherever they might be within the state’.

The statement partly reads, ‘We express great concern and sadness over the
increasing killing of youths by suspected cultists in Ogun State. We have painfully, with dismay, been observing the orchestrated and unchecked atrocities
dished out to many young people in the state while the government stays quiet.

‘The fact that these killings can occur in the open with emboldened courage is a
clear indication that security is indeed falling apart in Ogun State. The News of
killings at one location or the other within the State is gradually become a norm.

‘We call on the government to, as a matter of urgency, do everything possible and use any means available to curtail the situation and arrest all those who are behind the ongoing killings in the State which must be confronted head-on with might and power of the government

‘The most important ingredients of living are the sanctity of human lives, the
dignity of people and economic security. These factors are gradually fading away
in Ogun State owing to the spate of killings witnessed in the state.

‘We bemoaned the fact that at a time when the country is facing its toughest
economic challenge resulting in the harsh inflation of commodities, some youths have chosen to engage in violent acts rather than engage themselves to productive economic use.

‘We charge Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Olakunle
Taiwo Oluomo, to convene an emergency session on the rising state of insecurity
in Ogun State, and urge our lawmakers to come up with a unified position on
specific security challenges in their constituencies with a view to arriving at
workable solutions on the state of security.

‘There is the need for a constructive engagement mechanism with relevant
stakeholders to work out modalities towards bringing the crisis to an end.

The fundamental causes of the growing crisis must be identified and the problems solved to restore confidence of the people in our security agencies to protect them’.