Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State yesterday led an enforcement team to Okene in the Central Senatorial District of the state to demolish buildings used by suspected kidnappers and armed robbers.
The demolition exercise followed recent arrest of 17 suspected kidnappers and armed robbers by the Army and various acts of kidnapping and armed robbery in the area before the arrest.
The governor who was accompanied by the state commissioner of police, Mr Wilson Inalegwu and heads of other security agencies in the state, had pulled down two structures at the time of filing this report.
The building of a suspected kidnap kingpin, Alhaji Tijanni Bakare was the first to be pulled down at Oyunkoko Ward in Okene LGA of the state. Also pulled down was the notorious Ahlul-Sunnah Mosque in Inike, Okene, which was reportedly taken over in 2015 by members of the Boko Haram terrorist group and had been serving as an operational base for their activities.
Bello, at the demolition site, vowed to implement the state’s Anti-kidnapping, Robbery and Terrorism Law to the letter.
He warned people of the state against harbouring criminals, saying government will continue to pull down such houses when discovered.
On his part, the Kogi State Police Commissioner said, “This is a strong message to kidnappers and hoodlums that they must change their ways. We want to make Kogi safe so that those living here or travelling through Kogi will not have fear of being kidnapped.”
