Give us chance to flush bandits along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway- Gani Adams tells S’West govs

Gani Adams, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, urged the governors of Oyo, Dapo Abiodun, and Ogun, as well as Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, on Thursday to support the newly formed Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, dependable team, and the South West Security Stakeholders Group, SSSG, in their efforts to flush out kidnappers and bandits operating along the Lagos-Ibad

In a statement issued by his special assistant for media, Kehinde Aderemi, Aare Gani Adams expressed concern over the frequent assaults on motorists.

He claimed that since the police had broken their earlier promises to provide adequate security along the road, it is important to ask the governors to give the OPC, Amotekun, and other security organizations like the Hunters, Vigilante, COMSAIC, and Isokan Oodua permission to clear terrorists from the bushes. These organizations work under the supervision of the SSSG.

Gani Adams expressed concern about the recent increase in insecurity along the road and said that the only way out of the mess is to let the OPC fight for the return of peace along the road.

He said: “There has been an abnormal surge in cases of kidnapping along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way.

“The information at my disposal indicates the surge in the numbers of terrorists and kidnappers hiding at Spade, a 62. km town to Ibadan.

“The situation is getting out of hand and I believe it is now time for the three governors of Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos to allow us to flush the bandits out of their hiding place.

“I want to assure the governors that we will flush out the terrorists from their hideouts within three weeks.

The Yoruba generalissimo insisted that he would not surrender to see such a facility taken over by terrorists when he warned terrorists and bandits to avoid the southwest.

“The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is not Kano-Kaduna or Abuja road that has become a haven for terrorists. So, the governors should allow us to rid them of this road”, he said.

Recall that men of the Ogun State Police Command on Tuesday battled suspected kidnappers during an attack on commuters traveling on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The PUNCH  gathered that the gunmen, who were dressed in military camouflage, attempted to abduct passengers in an 18-seater bus.

The vehicle was reportedly heading for Lagos from Ibadan, Oyo State when the incident happened. Our correspondent learned that the gunmen stormed the road from a bush before the Sagamu Interchange and started shooting at the bus.

The passengers and the driver were said to have scampered for safety, as some hid under the bus. However, the intervention of policemen in the area foiled the attack.

A video taken after the incident and obtained by our correspondent showed people writhing in pain on the ground.

The video also captured the bus, which was riddled with bullets, as one of the passengers narrated their ordeal.

He said, “We (passengers) were only lucky to escape the gunmen, but many of us have been injured by the bullets and our bus has been badly damaged too.”

Another video showed a man who survived bullet wounds.

He said, “I thought I was dead, having been shot by them. They faced our vehicle, shooting at us; we all lay down except the driver, who was the target. They thought we were all dead and retreated into the bush. The joint patrol team of police officers from Ogun and Oyo states arrived at the scene later.”