On Friday, residents of Otun-Ekiti, in the Moba council area, appealed to Governor Biodun Oyebanji to end kidnapping in their communities.

They said many lost valuable things and people in 2022 due to insecurity and lamented that despite the efforts of the police to arrest the perpetrators, kidnapping persists.

One of the residents, Bode Omole, a farmer, appealed to the state Mr Oyebanji, to find a lasting solution to kidnapping and ritual killing in the area.

“I want to appeal to Oyebanji to end insecurity such as kidnappings, stealing and killing in our community in the new year. 2022 was a very challenging year for us in Otun-Ekiti. My friends and I can no longer visit our farms or travel in the evening or early in the morning,” stated Mr Omole. “It is until all the perpetrators of this crime are arrested that peace can be restored, and the farmers will be able to return to their farms with peace of mind.”

However, according to another resident, Bidemi Owolabi, a tailor, many indigenes are no longer afraid of any kidnappers because they are beginning to fortify themselves spiritually.

Ms Owolabi explained that non-indigenes were afraid of travelling or visiting their farms.

“Insecurity in our community needs urgent government intervention to arrest all the perpetrators of kidnapping. Many of us, especially the farmers and non-indigenes, hardly visit the farms to avoid being kidnapped,” she revealed. “I want to urge our governor to prioritise the security of life of indigenes and residents in communities under Moba local government in 2023.”

Omotayo Omoleye, an automobile engineer, said the prevailing insecurity prevented private investors from establishing companies, banks and supermarkets in the area and that many residents had relocated to more secure places.

An indigene of the community, Bayode Ogunmoroti, a teacher, described the activities of kidnappers in the town in 2022 as dreadful.

Mr Ogunmoroti urged the Ekiti government to seek further assistance from the federal government and recruit more security officers, such as the Amotekun corps, to end the activities of kidnapping in the state.

(NAN)