Following a recent surge in security breaches across the state, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has convened an emergency meeting with heads of local security agencies on Wednesday to address the violence.
The state government’s decision comes in the wake of brutal rival cult clashes in Osogbo, the state capital, where two separate attacks between Friday and Sunday left two people dead and five others injured. In response to the bloody clashes, Osun State Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Zungura directed tactical units to launch targeted raids on suspected criminal hideouts throughout the capital.
Samuel Ojo, Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matters, confirmed that the high-level security meeting would focus on strategies to halt the wave of cult-related murders and implement stricter controls over state forests. Security concerns regarding rural forest areas have heightened following the recent killing of an Islamic State West Africa Province leader in neighbouring Owo, Ondo State.
Ojo noted that the events in Ondo served as a direct warning to hiding syndicates. He warned perpetrators of violent crime to desist immediately or face severe penalties, expressing concern that the unexplained violence was damaging the reputation of the state.
Speaking on the objectives of the meeting, Ojo explained: “Aside from that, we are also using the meeting to address the incessant killings by rival cult groups in the past weeks. We need to meet and discuss how to stop these killings by cult groups or any other violent crimes hiding under that canopy.”