The Chairman of the Miyetti Allah in Oyo state, Alhaji Ibrahim Jiji on Monday appealed begged the governor of Oyo state, Engr. Seyi Makinde to employ some of Fulani hersmen in the state to the scheme of the state security network, codenamed Amotekun.
Jiji who said this is very important because of the language barrier and other factors affecting their members in the state noted that criminality is not peculiar with a tribe.
He also apealed to the Oyo state government to release 46 Fulani who in police custody, saying they are not criminals but members of Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) who are securing people in Ibarapa land.
The chairman of Miyetti Allah who stated this at a press conference in Ibadan on Monday said the arrested vigilantes were among the people invited to rescue some kidnap victims in the area.
He said; “I am appealing to state government to leave these people. They are not thief. They are the people who are securing us because we may need them in another time. Why we want them to include our members in Amotekun is because of language barrier. We appeal to Oyo state government to employ Fulanis and other tribes in Amotekun for efficiency of their job.”
The man who lamented the clash that led to the death of some Fulani men in Okebi, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of the state.
Explaining how they were arrested, Jiji said; “They invited us to a meeting in Ibadan where they told us that they needed our support to fight insecurity in Ibarapa area. We told them that we are going to give them 50 among our Vigilantes who are Fulanis.
“They have been doing the Vigilante job for a very long time, therefore they know how to arrest criminals. When the Amotekun were about to leave for the operation, we were still in Eruwa with some of our men who are Vigilantes when we heard they have attacked the village. That was when those of us who are leaders stood up and went to the village. When we got there,we saw that three people have already been killed. When I saw the incident, I approached the commandant of Amotekun to know his view on the incident.
“I asked why they didn’t wait for us but he didn’t answer me. We called our men who are waiting for us in Eruwa to leave the venue of our meeting that they should return to their homes because Amotekun have done another thing. Our plan was not to kill anybody. In the evening of the same day (Saturday) one of the Vigilantes called us that two people were kidnapped in Igangan area of the state, we called the Vigilantes and told them that they should go and search for the criminals that kidnapped those children but they must inform police before going. While going, they were arrested in Igangan.
“They called us that Soldiers have arrested them. They told us that the commandant of the soldiers has left the for palace of Seriki Igangan. Retuning from the palace, the commandant just arrested them and took them to police station. Those who were going to fight criminals are the set of the people they are parading as criminals. Those people are not criminals but they are the people securing us. They are registered Vigilantes and they are working with police and other security agencies.
“The 46 Vigilantes that were arrested have been useful for the state for many years. All the 46 Vigilantes are not criminals, they are the people arresting criminals. Even those criminals arrested by our men are with police as we speak.
“Thief is thief and not Fulani. Tribe is different from Criminals. We are ready to work with Oyo state government to stop criminality in the state.
“I am not happy with the old man that was killed by Amotekun killed. The man is an old man. He was over 70 year when they killed him with his two children. I am not happy at what happened at all. He is an Alfa and he has been there for over 45years now before he was killed.”
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