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Owo Massacre: Police Apologise, Say Attackers Will Be Arrested
Owo Massacre
The Nigerian Police on Wednesday apologised to the residents of Owo and Nigerians over the terror attack on the worship centre in Owo, Ondo state, where over 40 lives were lost, with the assurance that the perpetrators would not go unpunished.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 17, which included Ondo and Ekiti Command, Yunus Akeera, tendered this apology during a condolence visit to the palace of Olowo of Owo, Oba Gbadegesin Ogunye, and the scene of the church attack.
Akeera disclosed that the police have been working round the clock to unravel the facts surrounding the horrific attack, saying such the incident will not repeat itself again in any part of the country.
The AIG said that police will henceforth engage the community in order to prevent reoccurrence but called for the cooperation of the people of the state to tackle insecurity across the country.
He said “Issues like this have never happened and people are wondering, why Owo? We must say we are sorry for what has happened. But as law officers, we are going to put our ears to the ground and we will leave no stone unturned to make sure those who are behind this wicked act will be apprehended and faced with the law. This I must assure you.
“We have come to the scene of the crime and from all indications the place is situated in the heart of town and any rational person will be wondering what could happen and our focus should be how to go about round up those behind this incident so that they will be prosecuted.
“Furthermore, all the security architecture will be placed here so that such incidents will not repeat themselves anymore and other areas in the state.
“The focus is to give robust policing. We are going to engage with the community and we employed them to give us useful information and all hands must be on deck because security is everybody’s business.”
The police boss commended the state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, over the Executive Order signed to compel public and private institutions in the state to install Close Circuit Television (CCTV) on their facilities, saying that the move will enormously enhance the fight against crime by security agencies.
“The governor’s pronouncement is a welcome development. All over the world, that is the best practice. If every public places have CCTV installed in their environment, it will checkmate a lot of things. It will give adequate capturing of who and who goes in or goes out. It will also ease investigation.
“It is a positive development, I think the governor has done what is needed so that the entire state can move forward. I commend the governor for the progressive and proactive pronouncement.
“We are wondering what would have led these evil people to perpetuate this kind of thing to disturb Owo kingdom. Up till now, we are yet to get out of the shock because what us pondering in my mind and in my heart is what must have pushed these people to come this far because Owo as a kingdom is noted for its education and peaceful co-existence.
“Issues like this have never happened and people are wondering, why Owo. We must say we are sorry for what has happened. But as law officers, we are going to put our ears to the ground and we will leave no stone unturned to make sure those who are behind this wicked act will be apprehended and faced with the law. This I must assure you”
He said “The Inspector General of Police and his team are not happy about it. There is nobody who is law-abiding who will be happy to see that innocent lives killed just like that. The God that created all of us, place a sacred value on our lives.
“As a Muslim, the belief is that if you kill one life is as if you have killed humanity. Equally, it is in the bible. I don’t know which kind of religion these people are practising for them not to have value for human lives.
“I’m reassuring that as police we will work ourselves tirelessly to ensure that we will get to the bottom of this issue. We will be very proactive and pragmatic about it so that this thing will not happen again.”
While urging the police to unearth those behind the attack, Oba Ogunoye, lamented that police in Owo lacked operational vehicles as well as adequate personnel.
“One could not fathom the reason why those people could go to that extent. They are not Muslims and they are not Christians. As I often say, they are not human beings and they don’t worth human existence.
“I know that very soon, the full wrath of the law will be against them. I know that Nigeria Police is very professional and when they set out to do an assignment, the results will be so certain.
“The Nigeria Police have not only performed here, even when they are on international assignment. As you set out your aims and objective will be achieved.
“The major challenges facing police operations in Owo is lack of vehicles and personnel. They don’t have vehicles to mobilise to the crime scene and for quick movement. Also, the number of personnel here is inadequate considering the fact that Owo is a big city.” Source:Tribune Online
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