Governor of Oyo State, ‘Seyi Makinde, has said the South-West region must deploy all necessary intelligence to prevent a recurrence of the killings that occured at Owo, Ondo State.
He said this, on Monday, when he visited St Francis Catholic Church, Owo where worshippers were attacked on Sunday and scored were killed and several others injured.
Makinde, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Taiwo Adisa, condoled with the government and people of Ondo State on the unfortunate incident.
He was received at the premises of the church by his Ondo State counterpart, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu and the Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola.
Governor Makinde, who was accompanied by his Special Adviser on Strategy and Political Matters, Hon. Babatunde Oduyoye, also visited the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owo, in company of Akeredolu and Aregbesola.
Speaking to newsmen at the FMC, Owo, where most of the surviving victims with various degrees of injuries were receiving treatments, Makinde said the country must be prepared to stop terrorism.
He added that he was concerned and hoped that there was no nexus between the June 5, 2021 attack on Igangan, Oyo State and that of Owo, Ondo State.
Governor Makinde, who was moved to tears at the sight of an infant casualty with severe injuries, said the attack was unacceptable and highly condemnable.
He declared that such kind of attacks must never be allowed to recur, calling on all stakeholders to be more prepared and to deploy intelligence to prevent a recurrence.
Makinde said: “We just saw a baby on the bed there struggling for life. It was a dastardly act. But we have to avoid any knee-jerk reaction.
“We have to use the intelligence that we have and not just say a particular thing cannot happen. We have to be prepared.
“I don’t want to make it sound as though this is a regional thing, but as long as it is not acceptable anywhere else, we don’t want to see this kind of thing anywhere in the South-West region of Nigeria.”
