Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State said on Tuesday that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu spoke with him over the phone every day until the abducted school pupils were released.
The governor stated this while receiving a delegation of the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, who came on a condolence visit to his office in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday.
The Afenifere delegation, led by the Ondo State chairman of the group, Chief Korede Duyile, was sent by the national leader of the group, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, to commiserate with the government and people of Ekiti State over the killing of two traditional rulers and the abduction of some pupils of a private school and their teachers last week. The pupils and their teachers have since regained freedom from the kidnappers’ den.
Governor Oyebanji, who described the gruesome killing of the two traditional rulers as sacrilegious and “an affront to the Ekiti people and the Yoruba race,” assured that the perpetrators would not go unpunished.
He also described the kidnapping of the school pupils and their teachers as a dangerous dimension, hence the need to mobilise forces to rescue the children.
“Mr President really tried; from the minute it happened until the last day the children were released, the President was talking to me daily, giving appropriate directives on the way out. And I want Afenifere to thank him,” he said.
Governor Oyebanji said that in spite of the release of the children, security agencies have continued the search for the perpetrators of the heinous crimes to bring them to justice. This, he said, was necessary in order to put an end to the dastardly acts.
Oyebanji further said: “All the governors of the Southwest states are united on this matter of security. And we are collaborating on the issue. We have a common position; the demise of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu slowed things down. We feel it would be proper to accord him respect and continue the process after his burial.”
Earlier, while condoling the governor, the Afenifere leaders, who lamented the killing of the monarchs and the abduction of schoolchildren, called for the restructuring of the country to tackle security and other challenges.
The Afenifere leaders affirmed the need to strengthen the South West Security Network, codenamed Amotekun, with the necessary ammunition that would make the officers effective in tackling all forms of security infiltration into the region.
They also called for an urgent review of the Constitution, which they opined had become obsolete given the realities of the present situation.
