Governor Dapo Abiodun announced that the Ogun Government would soon adopt a law that would impose the death penalty on anyone caught engaging in cult activities in the state and its surroundings during a meeting with the Paramount Ruler of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, at the Akarigbo Palace in Sagamu, Ogun. Read more...
Abiodun expressed horror at the senseless deaths and the upheaval of Sagamu's peace.
He warned that the state would not remain silent if dishonest people incited violence in any part of the nation. He felt sympathy for the law-abiding and upright Sagamu citizens, the aforementioned paramount monarch, and all others who had lost loved ones.
"We will do all in our power to hold anyone accountable—whether they are directly, indirectly, or even remotely—for these events.
"I have talked with the Attorney General about the possibility that these horrible crimes occur because of our attitude.
As the state's governor, I have the authority to sentence someone to death, and we'll make sure that happens because, he reasoned, "when people appreciate and understand the consequences of their behaviors, perhaps they will begin to have a rethink."
Abiodun recalled that he had requested that the Commander of the Civil Defense, AMOTEKUN Commander, the Director of the State Security Service (DSS), and the Commissioner of Police relocate to Sagamu for this purpose.
"Since these people are not spirits, we shall rely on our traditional rulers for all intelligence support because they are the closest to the grassroots. They occupy our homes as renters and live with us.
"The last time I was here, I declared that we would demolish any home where we arrested anyone linked to either kidnapping or cultism.
We shall no longer refer to these people as cultists or by any other label, I am now declaring. We are declaring them to be murderers, and we will punish them appropriately, he threatened.
Since his government was committed to the state's growth and prosperity, he stated that nobody would be allowed to stop it from moving forward.
Oba Ajayi lamented the ongoing destruction of lives and property in the neighborhood and asserted that until criminal activity stops, the town will not see the required growth.
He requested the presence of mobile police and military troops to ensure the proper maintenance of law and order.