Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, on Monday, ordered the arrest of any landlord whose building served as a hideout for kidnappers in the state.
He also gave an order that the buildings used as hideouts by criminals be demolished.
The governor made the pronouncements while briefing newsmen after a security meeting held with the state Commissioner of Police, Bashir Makama, and the state Director of Department of State Services (DSS), David Tuska, at the Governor’s Office, in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
The state government’s decision followed the rising insecurity in the state which the governor said required drastic measures to combat.
The governor also said he had given an order that 25 metres on each side of the road between Sagamu and Ore be cleared to prevent kidnappers from jumping from the forest to the road to kidnap travelers.
He disclosed that his administration was set to re-launch Security Trust Fund to allow individuals and all stakeholders to make voluntary contributions to raise enough funds to fight criminals.
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Let me use this opportunity to sound this very strong note of warning to our landlords and any property owner that any property or facility found to be serving as hideout to criminals will not only be taken over by the state, we will demolish them.
“The landlords will also be arrested and handed over for prosecution for harbouring criminals, we will consider and treat them as accomplices.
“We are working forwards strengthening our security apparatus in the state. We are re-organising the Ogun State Security Trust Fund and it will comprise key stakeholders alongside government officials and some of our longstanding retired law enforcement officers,” he said.
On Wednesday, five persons, including a member of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, were kidnapped in Ogbere on the Sagamu-Ore-Benin expressway. They were rescued three days after.
A week earlier, security agents in the state rescued seven kidnap victims.