…As Obaseki goes on offensive against Kidnappers, Deploys over 120 security operatives into forests
The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Edo State, Oluwole Iyamu, senior advocate of Nigeria, SAN, has expressed grave concern over the future of the state’s youths whom he noted are no longer interested in education but neck-deep in cybercrime. Iyamu however vowed that just as the state battled human trafficking, it would tackle head-on the menace of cybercrime in other not to lose a whole generation of its youths.
The attorney general, who raised the alarm on Tuesday after the state’s February Security Council meeting at the Government House, Benin City, explained that following a meeting between the governor, Godwin Obaseki, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC in the state, the government was developing a coordinated approach to stamp out cybercrime from the state.
Iyamu said “From the data presented and correlated by that of the state, it’s clear that large numbers of youths are engaged in this act. The age bracket involved in cybercrime is from 15 to less than 30 years, and prominent among them is dating scams, which is about 80 to 90 percent of the cybercrime activities in the state.
“Just as the state took the lead in tackling human trafficking five years ago, we are planning to attack cybercrime head-on, and not to lose a whole generation of youths as we attack it from the root. Our youths are no longer interested in schooling. We are planning to attack the root cause.”
Speaking earlier on checkmating the activities of killer herdsmen in the state, Governor Obaseki, said over 120 security personnel have been deployed to forests in the state, particularly the Ovia forests to dislodge criminals from the area. He said the Council was working to deploy more security personnel to other forests across the state to prevent criminals from migrating to places that are currently enjoying peace.
The governor disclosed that Edo had had an impressive drop of incidence from about 170 cases in January, to 46 in February, noting that the state Security Council was working proactively to ensure security of lives and property in communities where farmers/herders clashes were prevalent.
According to him, “We have deployed over 120 security personnel to dislodge criminals from the Ovia axis of our forests. We got information that criminals are trying to come back, but we have redeployed more security personnel. We are working on how to completely flush them out of Edo State.”
Governor Obaseki also announced the resolve of the Security Council to immediately begin the arrest and prosecution of owners of unregistered vehicles, as well as vehicles with covered number plates in the state.
Expatiating on this, Edo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Henry Benamaisia, said the agency had discovered that criminals move around the state with unregistered plate numbers, adding, “To check this, the state government has set up a task force to arrest offenders starting from today (Tuesday).”
Benamaisia noted that the federal government, through the FRSC, has approved 5,000 plate numbers for the state, noting, “All plate numbers must not be covered but opened, as security agencies, from this week, will embark on a massive operation to arrest offenders.
“Speed is a major cause of accidents and deaths on our roads. Consequently, the governor has given us the mandate to arrest any commercial bus driver not using the speed limit device. It is compulsory for all commercial vehicles in Edo State to install their speed limit device. If you are a commercial driver in Edo State without the speed limit device, it is now an offence, and you will be arrested,” he added.
Speaking on the successes recorded in ridding the state of kidnappers, Commissioner of Police, CP, Philip Ogbadu, revealed that between January and February, the command had arrested several suspects, including three persons on the Police wanted list since June last year, while three AK-47 rifles were recovered from the suspects.
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