Fulani residents in Oyo State and other parts of the South-West have expressed fear over the activities and rhetoric surrounding the Iru Ekun Security Network, a private security outfit established by Yoruba Nation advocate, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho.
The residents, while saying they were not opposed to genuine efforts to tackle kidnapping, banditry and other crimes in the region, raised concerns over what they described as the profiling of Fulani communities as criminal suspects.
They argued that portraying an entire ethnic group as responsible for insecurity would deepen mistrust and distract authorities from identifying the actual perpetrators of criminal activities.
A Fulani resident in Oyo State, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said members of the community were increasingly apprehensive.
“We are living in fear. When he mentioned Banni, everyone became scared. What many people fail to realise is that the Fulani have long been part and parcel of this state,” he told Daily Trust.
The resident also drew attention to the May 15 abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area, saying three Fulani children were among the victims still in captivity.
“Among the children who were abducted, three are Fulani children, and they are still in captivity. When Sunday Igboho claimed that he gave an ultimatum to the Fulani to release those kidnapped in Igboho, his home town, and later came out to say they had been released, it is not true. Three days after that incident, another man was kidnapped,” he alleged.
He claimed that suspects arrested in connection with one of the kidnapping incidents were not Fulani.
“The suspects arrested in connection with that case are Yoruba, four of them and a policeman. The policeman is currently being held in custody at Igboho; you can go and find out.
“We have had several cases like this when an attack would be carried out, and it would be blamed on the Fulani. We believe these incidents are aimed at tarnishing the image of the Fulani in the state. Our huts have also been attacked,” he added.
Naijaonpoint reports that the concerns followed controversy over claims that some kidnapped victims had regained their freedom after Igboho reportedly issued an ultimatum.
However, the Chairman of the affected council, Jacob Ogundiran, and the Oyo State Police Command dismissed reports of the victims’ release as false and misleading.
“The kidnapped victims are yet to regain their freedom. We urge members of the public to disregard any information suggesting otherwise unless it emanates from official and credible sources,” Ogundiran had said.
The police also said there was no official confirmation that the hostages had been rescued or evidence linking Igboho to any rescue operation.
“The Nigeria Police Force has officially debunked claims that the hostages have been safely released,” the police stated.
The controversy surrounding Iru Ekun followed the abduction of 46 pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State during a coordinated attack on May 15.
The security crisis worsened after one of the abducted teachers, Michael Oyedokun, was reportedly killed by the kidnappers.
The incident sparked outrage and protests by members of the Nigeria Union of Teachers and other stakeholders, who demanded urgent government action to rescue the victims and secure schools.
Amid rescue and negotiation efforts, Igboho offered to enter the Old Oyo National Park, where the victims were believed to be held, to rescue them if granted permission by the authorities.
Barely 10 days after the abduction, the Yoruba Nation advocate unveiled the Iru Ekun Security Network, saying the organisation was established to flush terrorists, kidnappers and bandits out of Yoruba forests.
In a viral video circulated on May 25, Igboho called on Yoruba people to unite against criminal elements operating in forests and reserves across the region.
“Iru Ekun is a security network I established. It has been duly registered, submitted to the president and officially approved. I want to call on all Yoruba people to work together so that we can flush criminals out of our forests and reserves. We must not allow them to continue operating among us,” he said.
Igboho also alleged that some people were attempting to politicise insecurity and use terrorism to destabilise President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“Some people want to politicise this issue, but we must not allow that. The same thing happened during the administration of Goodluck Jonathan when Boko Haram was used to destabilise the government. Now, some people want to create insecurity again to destabilise the government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and damage it politically.
“But we Yoruba people will not allow that to happen because Tinubu is our own, and we must protect our land and our future. We must not allow terrorists to use our land. We must not allow politics to weaponise terrorism against our people,” he said.
