Criminal herders have Yoruba collaborators, says Osun OPC

Adeleke Akintayo, coordinator of the late Fredrick Fasehun faction of Oodua Peoples’ Congress in Osun state, says herders involved in criminal activities in the south-west have Yoruba backers. 

According to The PUNCH, Akintayo, on Sunday said the south-west must forge a common front to deal with banditry and kidnapping in the region.

He said some people in the south-west are working against the expulsion of criminal herders, adding that they should be identified and dealt with.

“We commend our governors in the South-West states for their unity to ensure peace in the land,” he said.

“But there are people within Yoruba race that are collaborators with forces outside the region. Those collaborators are the ones making utterances that are fuelling division.

“They are working to ensure that those Fulani linked to criminal activities are not expelled from Yorubaland. They should be identified and dealt with in our traditional way.”

There has been tension in the south-west owing to the activities of bandits who ambush citizens on highways. Many have been killed and many have been kidnapped by bandits in the region.

Rotimi Akeredolu, Ondo state governor, had asked herders to vacate the state’s forest reserves. Sunday Adeyemo, a youth leader better known as Sunday Igboho, had also asked herders to leave Ibarapa local government area of Oyo state.

The eviction notices sparked off controversies with calls by some leaders for calm.