End incessant bank robberies in Osun, Reps tell IGP

THE House of Representatives, yesterday, asked the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Usman Alkali, to put machinery in place towards ending the incessant bank robberies in Osun State, especially within the Odo–Otin/Ifelodun/Boripe Federal Constituency.

The lawmaker representing the constituency, Mr Rasheed Afolabi, had moved a motion at the plenary on Thursday to decry the repeated attacks on banks in the area.

Afolabi, in the motion titled ‘Call to Address the Menace of Persistent Bank Robberies and Threat to Lives and Property of the People of Odo–Otin/Ifelodun/Boripe Federal Constituency of Osun State,’ noted that four bank robberies had been recorded within three local government areas in recent times.

He said: “The House notes the persistent and unabated rate of deadly armed robbery attacks targeted at banks in Odo–Otin/Ifelodun/Boripe Federal Constituency, which has paralysed economic activities.

“The House also notes the recent robbery attack on September 28, 2021, where criminals invaded and looted Wema Bank, Iragbiji in Boripe Local Government Area, killing innocent Citizens.

“The House further notes that the dastardly robberies started on February 12, 2016, when three commercial banks, namely Skye Bank (now Polaris), First Bank and Union Bank, were simultaneously robbed in Ikirun, Ifelodun Local Government Area, the headquarters of the federal constituency and killed 10 people to the carnage.

“The House observes that within this year, three distinct bank robbery incidents had taken place in the remaining two LGAs that made up the federal constituency, thus subjecting residents to perpetual fear, economic woes as a result of the relocation of all the banks to neighbouring communities several kilometres away from Odo–Otin/Ifelodun/Boripe constituency.”

Adopting the motion, the House “urged the Inspector-General of Police to develop and put in place formidable security apparatus, mechanism and strategy, including efficient backup response to prevent the persistent occurrence of armed robbery attacks within the constituency.”

The House also urged the IGP and other relevant authorities to relocate the 39th MOPOL Unit to Ikirun, Ifelodun Local Government Area headquarters, “where the unit was to be located to curtail the escalating crime rate in the area.”

Credit: Vanguard